"When  the  body  of  Serjeant  Dunham,  which  was 
propped  against  it,  fell  partly  within  the  block.  To  draw 
in  the  legs  and  secure  the  fastenings,  occupied  the 
Pathfinder  but  a  moment.'' 


THE  LEATHER  STOCKING  TALES 

UNCAS   EDITION 


THE  PATHFINDER 

PS 
/WO 

J.  FENIMORE  COOPER         j/u 


F 


CURRENT  LITERATURE  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 

NEW  YORK 


INTRODUCTION 

THE  plan  of  this  tale  suggested  itself  to  the  writer  many 
years  since,  though  the  details  are  altogether  of  recent 
invention.  The  idea  of  associating  seamen  and  savages 
in  incidents  that  might  be  supposed  characteristic  of  the 
Great  Lakes  having  been  mentioned  to  a  publisher,  the 
latter  obtained  something  like  a  pledge  from  the  author 
to  carry  out  the  design  at  some  future  day,  which  pledge 
is  now  tardily  and  imperfectly  redeemed. 

The  reader  may  recognize  an  old  friend  under  new  cir 
cumstances  in  the  principal  character  of  this  legend.  If 
the  exhibition  made  of  this  old  acquaintance,  in  the  novel 
circumstances  in  which  he  now  appears,  should  be  found 
not  to  lessen  his  favor  with  the  public,  it  will  be  a  source 
of  extreme  gratification  to  the  writer,  since  he  has  an 
interest  in  the  individual  in  question  that  falls  little  short 
of  reality.  It  is  not  an  easy  task,  however,  to  introduce 
the  same  character  in  four  separate  works,  and  to  main 
tain  the  peculiarities  that  are  indispensable  to  identity, 
without  incurring  a  risk  of  fatiguing  the  reader  with 
sameness;  and  the  present  experiment  has  been  so  long 
delayed  quite  as  much  from  doubts  of  its  success  as  from 
any  other  cause.  In  this,  as  in  every  other  undertaking, 
it  must  be  the  "end"  that  will  "crown  the  work." 

The  Indian  character  has  so  little  variety,  that  it  has 
been  my  object  to  avoid  dwelling  on  it  too  much  on  the 
present  occasion;  its  association  with  the  sailor,  too,  it  is 
feared,  will  be  found  to  have  more  novelty  than  interes 

It  may  strike  the  novice  as  an  anachronism  to  place 

iii 


iv  INTRODUCTION 

vessels  on  Ontario  in  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century; 
but  in  this  particular,  facts  will  fully  bear  out  all  the 
license  of  the  fiction.  Although  the  precise  vessels  men 
tioned  in  these  pages  may  never  have  existed  on  that  water 
or  anywhere  else,  others  so  nearly  resembling  them  are 
known  to  have  navigated  that  inland  sea,  even  at  a  period 
much  earlier  than  the  one  just  mentioned,  as  to  form  a 
sufficient  authority  for  their  introduction  into  a  work  of 
fiction.  It  is  a  fact  not  generally  remembered,  however 
well  known  it  may  be,  that  there  are  isolated  spots  along 
the  line  of  the  great  lakes  that  date  as  settlements  as  far 
back  as  many  of  the  older  American  towns,  and  which 
were  the  seats  of  a  species  of  civilization  long  before  the 
greater  portion  of  even  the  older  States  was  rescued  from 
the  wilderness. 

Ontario  in  our  own  times  has  been  the  scene  of  impor 
tant  naval  evolutions.  Fleets  have  maneuvered  on  those 
waters,  which,  half  a  century  ago,  were  as  deserted  as 
waters  well  can  be;  and  the  day  is  not  distant  when  the 
whole  of  that  vast  range  of  lakes  will  become  the  seat  of 
empire,  and  fraught  with  all  the  interests  of  human  soci 
ety.  A  passing  glimpse,  even  though  it  be  in  a  work  of 
fiction,  of  what  that  vast  region  so  lately  was,  may  help 
to  make  up  the  sum  of  knowledge,  by  which  alone  a  just 
appreciation  can  be  formed  of  the  wonderful  means  by 
which  Providence  is  clearing  the  way  for  the  advancement 
of  civilization  across  the  whole  American  continent. 


THE    PATHFINDER 


CHAPTER  I 


'The  turf  shall  be  my  fragrant  shrine; 
My  temple,  Lord  !  that  arch  of  thine ; 
My  censer's  breath  the  mountain  airs, 
And  silent  thoughts  my  only  prayers." 

-  MOORE. 


THE  sublimity  connected  with  vastness  is  familiar  to 
every  eye.     The  most  abstruse,   the  most  far-reaching, 
perhaps  the  most  chastened  of  the  poet's  thoughts,  crowd 
on  the  imagination  as  he  gazes  into  the  depths  of  the  illim 
itable  void.     The  expanse  of  the  ocean  is  seldom  seen  by 
the  novice  with  indifference;  and  the  mind,  even  in  the 
obscurity  of  night,  finds  a  parallel  to  that  grandeur,  which 
seems    inseparable  from  images  that  the  senses   cannot 
compass.     With  feelings  akin  to  this  admiration  and  awe 
—the  offspring  of  sublimity— were  the  different  characters 
with  which  the  action  of  this  tale  must  open,  gazing  on 
the  scene  before  them.     Four  persons  in  all— two  of  each 
sex— they  had  managed  to  ascend  a  pile  of  trees  that  had 
been  uptorn  by  a  tempest,  to  catch  a  view  of  the  obje. 
that  surrounded  them.     It  is  still  the  practise  of  the  ooun 
try  to  call  these  spots  wind-rows.     By  letting  in  the  lighi 
of  heaven  upon  the  dark  and  damp  recesses  of  the  wood, 
they  form  a  sort  of  oases  in  the  solemn  obscurity  of  the 
virgin  forests  of  America.     The  particular  wind-row  o: 
which  we  are  writing  lay  on  the  brow  of  a  gentle  accl 
ity  and,   though  small,   it  had  opened  the  way  for  an 
i      view  to  those  who  might  occupy  its  upper  mar- 


2  THE  PATHFINDER 

on  the  ocean,  while  others  again  impute  it  to  sudden  and 
violent  passages  of  streams  of  the  electric  fluid;  but  the 
effects  in  the  woods  are  familiar  to  all.  On  the  upper 
margin  of  the  opening,  the  viewless  influence  had  piled 
tree  on  tree,  in  such  a  manner  as  had  not  only  enabled  the 
two  males  of  the  party  to  ascend  to  an  elevation  of  some 
thirty  feet  above  the  level  of  the  earth,  but,  with  a  little 
care  and  encouragement,  to  induce  their  more  timid  com 
panions  to  accompany  them.  The  vast  trunks  which  had 
been  broken  and  driven  by  the  force  of  the  gust  lay 
blended  like  jackstraws;  while  their  branches,  still  exhal 
ing  the  fragrance  of  withering  leaves,  were  interlaced  in 
a  manner  to  afford  sufficient  support  to  the  hands.  One 
tree  had  been  completely  uprooted,  and  its  lower  end,  filled 
with  earth,  had  been  cast  uppermost,  in  a  way  to  supply 
a  sort  of  staging  for  the  four  adventurers,  when  they  had 
gained  the  desired  distance  from  the  ground. 

The  reader  is  to  anticipate  none  of  the  appliances  of 
people  of  condition  in  the  description  of  the  personal  ap 
pearances  of  the  group  in  question.  They  were  all  way 
farers  in  the  wilderness;  and  had  they  not  been,  neither 
their  previous  habits,  nor  their  actual  social  positions, 
would  have  accustomed  them  to  many  of  the  luxuries  of 
rank.  Two  of  the  party,  indeed,  a  male  and  female,  be 
longed  to  the  native  owners  of  the  soil,  being  Indians  of 
the  well-known  tribe  of  the  Tuscaroras;  while  their  com 
panions  were — a  man,  who  bore  about  him  the  peculiar 
ities  of  one  who  had  passed  his  days  on  the  ocean,  and 
was,  too,  in  a  station  little,  if  any,  above  that  of  a  com 
mon  mariner;  and  his  female  associate,  who  was  a  maiden 
of  a  class  in  no  great  degree  superior  to  his  own;  though 
her  youth,  sweetness  of  countenance,  and  a  modest,  but 
spirited  mien,  lent  that  character  of  intellect  and  refine 
ment  which  adds  so  much  to  the  charm  of  beauty  in  the 
sex.  On  the  present  occasion,  her  full  blue  eye  reflected 
the  feeling  of  sublimity  that  the  scene  excited,  and  her 
pleasant  face  was  beaming  with  the  pensive  expression 
with  which  all  deep  emotions,  even  though  they  bring  the 
most  grateful  pleasure,  shadow  the  countenances  of  the 
ingenuous  and  thoughtful. 

A.nd  truly  the  scene  was  of  a  nature  deeply  to  impress 


THE  PATHFINDER  3 

the  imagination  of  the  beholder.  Towards  the  west  in 
which  direction  the  faces  of  the  party  were  turned  'the 
eye  ranged  over  an  ocean  of  leaves,  glorious  and  rich  in 
the  varied  and  lively  verdure  of  a  generous  vegetation 
and  shaded  by  the  luxuriant  tints  which  belong  to  the 
forty-second  degree  of  latitude.  The  elm,  with  its  grace 
ful  and  weeping  top,  the  rich  varieties  of  the  mapte,  most 
of  the  noble  oaks  of  the  American  forest,  with  the  broad- 
leaved  linden  known  in  the  parlance  of  the  country  as  the 
basswood,  mingled  their  uppermost  branches,  forming  one 
broad  and  seemingly  interminable  carpet  of  foliage,  which 
stretched  away  towards  the  setting  sun,  until  it  bounded 
the  horizon,  by  blending  with  the  clouds,  as  the  waves  and 
the  sky  meet  at  the  base  of  the  vault  of  heaven.  Here  and 
there,  by  some  accident  of  the  tempests,  or  by  a  caprice 
of  nature,  a  trifling  opening  among  these  giant  members 
of  the  forest  permitted  an  inferior  tree  to  struggle  up 
ward  toward  the  light,  and  to  lift  its  modest  head  nearly 
to  a  level  with  the  surrounding  surface  of  verdure.  Of 
this  class  were  the  birch,  a  tree  of  some  account  in  regions 
less  favored,  the  quivering  aspen,  various  generous  nut 
woods,  and  divers  others  which  resembled  the  ignoble  and 
vulgar,  thrown  by  circumstances  into  the  presence  of  the 
stately  and  great.  Here  and  there,  too,  the  tall  straight 
trunk  of  the  pine  pierced  the  vast  field,  rising  high  above 
it,  like  some  grand  monument  reared  by  art  on  a  plain  of 
leaves. 

It  was  the  vastness  of  the  view,  the  nearly  unbroken  sur 
face  of  verdure,  that  contained  the  principle  of  grandeur. 
The  beauty  was  to  be  traced  in  the  delicate  tints,  relieved 
by  gradations  of  light  and  shade;  while  the  solemn  repose 
induced  the  feeling  allied  to  awe. 

"Uncle,"  said  the  wondering,  but  pleased  girl,  address 
ing  her  male  companion,  whose  arm  she  rather  touched 
than  leaned  on,  to  steady  her  own  light  but  firm  footing, 
"this  is  like  a  view  of  the  ocean  you  so  much  love! 

"So  much  for  ignorance,  and  a  girl's  fancy,  Magnet, 
—a  term  of  affection  the  sailor  often  used  in  allusion  t< 
his  niece's  personal  attractions;  "ao  one  butach.  c 
think  of  likening  this  handful  of  leaves  to  a  look  at  tb 
real  Atlantic.  You  might  seize  all  these  tree-tops  to  Nep- 


4  THE  PATHFINDER 

tune's  jacket,  and  they  would  make  no  more  than  a  nose 
gay  for  his  bosom." 

''More  fanciful  than  true,  I  think.  Look  thither;  it 
must  be  miles  on  miles,  and  yet  we  see  nothing  but  leaves! 
what  more  could  one  behold,  if  looking  at  the  ocean?" 

"More!"  returned  the  uncle,  giving  an  impatient  ges 
ture  with  the  elbow  the  other  touched,  for  his  arms  were 
crossed,  and  the  hands  were  thrust  into  the  bosom  of  a  vest 
of  red  cloth,  a  fashion  of  the  times,  "more,  Magnet! 
say,  rather,  what  less?  Where  are  your  combing  seas, 
your  blue  water,  your  rollers,  your  breakers,  your  whales, 
or  your  waterspouts,  and  your  endless  motion,  in  this  bit 
of  a  forest,  child?" 

"And  where  are  your  tree-tops,  your  solemn  silence, 
your  fragrant  leaves,  and  your  beautiful  green,  uncle,  on 
the  ocean?" 

"Tut,  Magnet!  if  you  understood  the  thing,  you  would 
know  that  green  water  is  a  sailor's  bane.  He  scarcely 
relishes  a  greenhorn  less." 

"But  green  trees  are  a  different  thing.  Hist!  that 
sound  is  the  air  breathing  among  the  leaves!" 

"You  should  hear  a  nor-wester  breathe,  girl,  if  you 
fancy  wind  aloft.  Now,  where  are  your  gales,  and  hur 
ricanes,  and  trades,  and  levanter,  and  such  like  incidents, 
in  this  bit  of  a  forest?  and  what  fishes  have  you  swimming 
beneath  yonder  tame  surface?"  « 

"That  there  have  been  tempests  here,  these  signs  around 
us  plainly  show;  and  beasts,  if  not  fishes,  are  beneath  those 
leaves. ' ' 

"I  do  not  know  that,"  returned  the  uncle,  with  a 
sailor's  dogmatism.  "They  told  us  many  stories  at  Albany 
of  the  wild  animals  we  should  fall  in  with,  and  yet  we 
have  seen  nothing  to  frighten  a  seal.  I  doubt  if  any  of 
your  inland  animals  will  compare  with  a  low  latitude 
shark." 

"See!"  exclaimed  the  niece,  who  was  more  occupied 
with  the  sublimity  and  beauty  of  the  "boundless  wood" 
than  with  her  uncle's  arguments;  "yonder  is  a  smoke 
curling  over  the  tops  of  the  trees — can  it  come  from  a 
house?" 

"Ay,  ay;  there  is  a  look  of  humanity  in  that  smoke," 


THE  PATHFINDER  5 

returned  the  old  seaman,  "which  is  worth  a  thousand 
trees.  I  must  show  it  to  Arrowhead,  who  may  be  running 
past  a  port  without  knowing  it.  It  is  probable  there  is  a 
caboose  where  there  is  a  smoke." 

As  he  concluded,  the  uncle  drew  a  hand  from  his  bosom, 
touched  the  male  Indian,  who  was  standing  near  him! 
lightly  on  the  shoulder,  and  pointed  out  a  thin  line  of 
vapor  which  was  stealing  slowly  out  of  the  wilderness  of 
leaves,  at  a  distance  of  about  a  mile,  and  was  diffusing 
itself  in  almost  imperceptible  threads  of  humidity  in  the 
quivering  atmosphere.  The  Tuscarora  was  one  of  those 
noble-looking  warriors  oftener  met  with  among  the  abor 
igines  of  this  continent  a  century  since  than  to-day;  and, 
while  he  had  mingled  sufficiently  with  the  colonists  to  be 
familiar  with  their  habits  and  even  with  their  language, 
he  had  lost  little,  if  any,  of  the  wild  grandeur  and  simple 
dignity  of  a  chief.  Between  him  and  the  old  seaman  the 
intercourse  had  been  friendly,  but  distant;  for  the  Indian 
had  been  too  much  accustomed  to  mingle  with  the  officers 
of  the  different  military  posts  he  had  frequented  not  to 
understand  that  his  present  companion  was  only  a  subor 
dinate.  So  imposing,  indeed,  had  been  the  quiet  supe 
riority  of  the  Tuscarora's  reserve,  that  Charles  Cap,  for  so 
was  the  seaman  named,  in  his  most  dogmatical  or  facetious 
moments,  had  not  ventured  on  familiarity  in  an  intercourse1 
which  had  now  lasted  more  than  a  week.  The  sight  of 
the  curling  smoke,  however,  had  struck  the  latter  like  the 
sudden  appearance  of  a  sail  at  sea;  and,  for  the  first  time 
since  they  met,  he  ventured  to  touch  the  warrior,  as  has 
been  related. 

The  quick  eye  of  the  Tuscarora  instantly  caught  a  sight 
of  the  smoke;  and  for  full  a  minute  he  stood,  slightly 
raised  on  tiptoe,  with  distended  nostrils,  like  the  buck 
that  scents  a  taint  in  the  air,  and  a  gaze  as  riveted  as  that 
of  the  trained  pointer  while  he  waits  his  master's  aim. 
Then,  falling  back  on  his  feet,  a  low  exclamation,  in  the 
soft  tones  that  form  so  singular  a  contrast  to  its  harsher 
cries  in  the  Indian  warrior's  voice,  was  barely  audi 
otherwise,  he  was  undisturbed.  His  countenance  was 
calm,  and  his  quick,  dark,  eagle  eye  moved  over  the  i 
panorama,  as  if  to  take  in  at  a  glance  every  circumstanc 


that  might  enlighten  his  mind.  That  the  long  journey 
they  had  attempted  to  make  through  a  broad  belt  of  wil 
derness  was  necessarily  attended  with  danger,  both  uncle 
and  niece  well  knew;  though  neither  could  at  once  deter 
mine  whether  the  sign  that  others  were  in  their  vicinity 
was  the  harbinger  of  good  or  evil. 

'  'There  must  be  Oneidas  or  Tuscaroras  near  us,  Arrow 
head,"  said  Cap,  addressing  his  Indian  companion  by  his 
conventional  English  name;  "will  it  not  be  well  to  join 
company  with  them,  and  get  a  comfortable  berth  for  the 
night  in  their  wigwam?" 

"No  wigwam  there,"  Arrowhead  answered  in  his  un 
moved  manner,  "too  much  tree." 

"But  Indians  must  be  there;  perhaps  some  old  mess 
mates  of  your  own,  Master  Arrowhead." 

"No  Tuscarora — no  Oneida — no  Mohawk — pale  face 
fire." 

"The  devil  it  is!  Well,  Magnet,  this  surpasses  a  sea 
man 'sp-hil  osophy;  we  old  sea-dogs  can  tell  a  lubber's  nest 
from  a  mate's  hammock;  but  I  do  not  think  the  oldest 
admiral  in  his  Majesty's  fleet  can  tell  a  king's  smoke  from 
a  collier's." 

The  idea  that  human  beings  were  in  their  vicinity,  in 
that  ocean  of  wilderness,  had  deepened  the  flush  on  the 
blooming  cheek  and  brighterted  the  eye  of  the  fair  creature 
at  his  side;  but  she  soon  turned  with  a  look  of  surprise  to 
her  relative,  and  said  hesitatingly,  for  both  had  often  ad 
mired  the  Tuscarora's  knowledge,  or,  we  might  almost 
say,  instinct: 

"A  pale  face's  fire!  Surely,  uncle,  he  cannot  know 
that!" 

"Ten  days  since,  child,  I  would  have  sworn  to  it;  but 
now  I  hardly  know  what  to  believe.  May  I  take  the  lib 
erty  of  asking,  Arrowhead,  why  you  fancy  that  smoke, 
now,  a  pale  face's  smoke,  and  not  a  red-skin's?" 

"Wet  wood,"  returned  the  warrior,  with  the  calmness 
with  which  the  padagogue  might  point  out  an  arithmeti 
cal  demonstration  to  his  puzzled  pupil.  "Much  wet — much 
smoke;  much  water — black  smoke." 

"But,  begging  your  pardon,  Master  Arrowhead,  the 
smoke  is  not  black,  nor  is  there  much  of  it.  To  my  eye, 


THE  PATHFINDER  7 

now,  it  is  as  light  and  fanciful  a  smoke  as  ever  rose  from 
a  captain's  tea-kettle,  when  nothing  was  left  to  make  the 
fire  but  a  few  chips  from  the  dunnage." 

"Too  much  water,"  returned  Arrowhead,  with  a  slight 
nod  of  the  head;  "Tuscarora  too  cunning  to  make  fire 
with  water!  pale  face  too  much  book,  and  burn  anything; 
much  book,  little  know." 

"Well,  that's  reasonable,  I  allow,"  said  Cap,  who  was 
no  devotee  of  learning;  "he  means  that  as  a  hit  at  your 
reading,  Magnet;  for  the  chief  has  sensible  notions  of 
things  in  his  own  way.  How  far,  Arrowhead,  do  you 
make  us,  by  your  calculation,  from  the  bit  of  a  pond  that 
you  call  the  Great  Lake,  and  towards  which  we  have  been 
so  many  clays  shaping  our  course?" 

The  Tuscarora  looked  at  the  seaman  with  quiet  superi 
ority  as  he  answered,  "Ontario,  like  heaven;  one  sun,  and 
the  great  traveler  will  know  it." 

"Well,  I  have  been  a  great  traveler,  I  cannot  deny;  but 
of  all  my  v'y'ges  this  has  been  the  longest,  the  least  profit 
able,  and  the  farthest  inland.  If  this  body  of  freshwater 
is  so  nigh,  Arrowhead,  and  so  large,  one  might  think  a 
pair  of  good  eyes  would  find  it  out;  for  apparently  every 
thing  within  thirty  miles  is  to  be  seen  from  this  lookout." 

"Look,"  said  Arrowhead,  stretching  an  arm  before  him 
with  quiet  grace;  "Ontario!" 

"Uncle,  you  are  accustomed  to  cry  'Land  ho!'  but  not 
'Water  ho!'  and  you  do  not  see  it, "  cried  the  niece,  laugh 
ing,  as  girls  will  laugh  at  their  own  idle  conceits.^ 

"How  now,  Magnet!  dost  suppose  that  I  shouldn't  know 
my  native  element,  if  it  were  in  sight?" 

"But  Ontario  is  not  your  native  element,  dear  uncle; 
for  you  come  from  the  salt  water,  while  this  is  fresh." 

"That  might  make  some  difference  to  your  young  mar 
iner,  but  none  to  the  old  one.  I  should  know  water,  child, 
were  I  to  see  it  in  China." 

"Ontario,"  repeated  Arrowhead,  with  emphasis,  aga 
stretching  his  hand  towards  the  northwest. 

Cap  looked  at  the  Tuscarora,  for  the  first 
their"  acquaintance,  with  something  like  an  air  of 
tempt,  though  he  did  not  fail  to  follow  the  direction ,  o. 
the  chief's  eye  and  arm,   both  of  which  were  directed 


8  THE  PATHFINDER 

towards  a  vacant  point  in  the  heavens,  a  short  distance 
above  the  plain  of  leaves. 

"Ay,  ay;  this  is  as  much  as  I  expected,  when  I  left  the 
coast  in  search  of  a  fresh-water  pond,"  resumed  Cap, 
shrugging  his  shoulders  like  one  whose  mind  was  made 
up,  and  who  thought  no  more  need  be  said.  "Ontario 
may  be  there,  or,  for  that  matter,  it  may  be  in  my 
pocket.  Well,  I  suppose  there  will  be  room  enough,  when 
we  reach  it,  to  work  our  canoe.  But,  Arrowhead,  if  there 
be  pale  faces  in  our  neighborhood,  I  confess  I  should  like 
to  get  within  hail  of  them." 

TheTuscarora  now  gave  a  quiet  inclination  of  his  head, 
and  the  whole  party  descended  from  the  roots  of  the  up- 
torn  tree  in  silence.  When  they  reached  the  ground, 
Arrowhead  intimated  his  intention  to  go  towards  the  fire, 
and  ascertain  who  had  lighted  it;  while  he  advised  his 
wife  and  the  two  others  to  return  to  a  canoe,  which  they 
had  left  in  the  adjacent  stream,  and  await  his  return. 

"Why,  chief,  this  might  do  on  soundings,  and  in  an 
offing  where  one  knew  the  channel,"  returned  old  Cap; 
"but  in  an  unknown  region  like  this,  I  think  it  unsafe  to 
trust  the  pilot  alone  too  far  from  the  ship;  so,  with  your 
leave,  we  will  not  part  company." 

"What  my  brother  want?"  asked  the  Indian  gravely, 
though  without  taking  offense  at  a  distrust  that  was  suffi 
ciently  plain. 

"Your  company,  Master  Arrowhead,  and  no  more.  I 
will  go  with  you  and  speak  these  strangers." 

The  Tuscarora  assented  without  difficulty,  and  again  he 
directed  his  patient  and  submissive  little  wife,  who  sel 
dom  turned  her  full  rich  black  eye  on  him  but  to  express 
equally  her  respect,  her  dread,  and  her  love,  to  proceed  to 
the  boat.  But  here  Magnet  raised  difficulty.  Although 
spirited,  and  of  unusual  energy  under  circumstances  of 
trial,  she  was  but  woman;  and  the  idea  of  being  entirely 
deserted  by  her  two  male  protectors,  in  the  midst  of 
a  wilderness  that  her  senses  had  just  told  her  was  seem 
ingly  illimitable,  became  so  keenly  painful,  that  she  ex 
pressed  a  wish  to  accompany  her  uncle. 

"The  exercise  will  be  a  relief,  dear  sir,  after  sitting  so 
long  in  the  canoe,"  she  added,  as  the  rich  blood  slowly  re- 


THE  PATHFINDER  9 

turned  to  a  cheek  that  had  paled  in  spite  of  her  efforts  to 
be  0dm;     and  there  may  be  females  with  the  strangers  " 
Come,  then,  child;  it  is  but  a  cable's  length,  and  we 
shall  return  an  hour  before  the  sun  sets." 

With  this  permission,  the  girl,  whose  real  name  was 
Mabel  Dunham,  prepared  to  be  of  the  party;  while  the 
Dew-of-June,  as  the  wife  of  Arrowhead  was  called,  pas 
sively  went  her  way  towards  the  canoe,  too  much  accus 
tomed  to  obedience,  solitude,  and  the  gloom  of  the  forest 
to  feel  apprehension. 

The  three  who  remained  in  the  wind-row  now  picked 
their  way  around  its  tangled  maze,  and  gained  the  margin 
of  the  woods.  A  few  glances  of  the  eye  sufficed  for  Ar 
rowhead;  but  old  Cap  deliberately  set  the  smoke  by  a 
pocket-compass,  before  he  trusted  himself  within  the 
shadows  of  the  trees. 

"This  steering  by  the  nose,  Magnet,  may  do  well  enough 
for  an  Indian,  but  your  thoroughbred  knows  the  virtue  of 
the  needle,"  said  the  uncle,  as  he  trudged  at  the  heels  of 
the  light-stepping  Tuscarora.  "America  would  never 
have  been  discovered,  take  my  word  for  it,  if  Columbus 
had  been  nothing  but  nostrils.  Friend  Arrowhead,  didst 
ever  see  a  machine  like  this?"  The  Indian  turned,  cast 
a  glance  at  the  compass,  which  Cap  held  in  a  way  to  direct 
his  course,  and  gravely  answered,  "A  pale  face  eye.  The 
Tuscarora  see  in  his  head.  The  Saltwater  (for  so  the 
Indian  styled  his  companion)  all  eye  now;  no  tongue." 

"He  means,  uncle,  that  we  had  needs  be  silent;  perhaps 
he  distrusts  the  persons  we  are  about  to  meet." 

"Ay,  'tis  an  Indian's  fashion  of  going  to  quarters.  You 
perceive  he  has  examined  the  priming  of  his  rifle,  and  it 
may  be  as  well  if  I  look  to  that  of  my  own  pistols." 

Without  betray  ing  alarm  at  these  preparations,  to  which 
she  had  become  accustomed  by  her  long  journey  in  the 
wilderness,  Mabel  followed  with  a  step  as  elastic  as  that 
of  the  Indian,  keeping  close  in  the  rear  of  her  companions. 
For  the  first  half  mile  no  other  caution  beyond  a  rigid 
silence  was  observed;  but  as  the  party  drew  nearer  to  the 
spot  where  the  fire  was  known  to  be,  much  greater  care 
became  necessary. 

The  forest,   as  usual,  had  little  to  intercept  the  view 


10  THE  PATHFINDER 

below  the  branches  but  the  tall  straight  trunks  of  trees. 
Everything  belonging  to  vegetation  had  struggled  towards 
the  light,  and  beneath  the  leafy  canopy  one  walked,  as  it 
might  be,  through  a  vast  natural  vault,  upheld  by  myriads 
of  rustic  columns.  These  columns  or  trees,  however, 
often  served  to  conceal  the  adventurer,  the  hunter,  or  the 
foe;  and,  as  Arrowhead  swiftly  approached  the  spot  where 
his  practised  and  unerring  senses  told  him  the  strangers 
ought  to  be,  his  footstep  gradually  became  lighter,  his  eye 
more  vigilant,  and  his  person  was  more  carefully  concealed. 

"See,  Saltwater,"  said  he  exultingly,  pointing  through 
the  vista  of  trees;  "pale  face  fire!" 

"By  the  Lord,  the  fellow  is  right!"  muttered  Cap; 
"there  they  are,  sure  enough,  and  eating  their  grub  as 
quietly  as  if  they  were  in  the  cabin  of  a  three-decker." 

"Arrowhead  is  but  half  right!"  whispered  Mabel;  "for 
there  are  two  Indians  and  only  one  white  man." 

"Pale  faces,"  said  the  Tuscarora,  holding  up  two 
fingers;  "red-man,"  holding  up  one. 

"Well,"  rejoined  Cap,  "it  is  hard  to  say  which  is  right 
and  which  is  wrong.  One  is  entirely  white,  and  a  fine 
comely  lad  he  is,  with  an  air  of  respectability  about  him; 
one  is  a  red-skin  as  plain  as  paint  and  nature  can  make 
him;  but  the  third  chap  is  half-rigged,  being  neither  brig 
nor  schooner." 

"Pale  faces,"  repeated  Arrowhead,  again  raising  two 
fingers;  "red  man,"  showing  but  one. 

"He  must  be  right,  uncle;  for  his  eye  seems  never  to 
fail.  But  it  is  now  urgent  to  know  whether  we  meet  as 
friends  or  foes.  They  may  be  French." 

"One  hail  will  soon  satisfy  us  on  that  head,"  returned 
Cap.  "Stand  you  behind  the  tree,  Magnet,  lest  the  knaves 
take  it  into  their  heads  to  fire  a  broadside  without  a 
parley,  and  I  will  soon  learn  what  colors  they  sail  under." 

The  uncle  had  placed  his  two  hands  to  his  mouth  to 
form  a  trumpet,  and  was  about  to  give  the  promised  hail 
when  a  rapid  movement  from  the  hand  of  Arrowhead  de 
feated  the  intention  by  deranging  the  instrument. 

"Red  man,  Mohican,"  said  the  Tuscarora;  "good;  pale 
faces,  Yengeese. " 

"These  ar-e  heavenly  tidings,"  murmured  Mabel,  who 


THE  PATHFINDER  n 

little  relished  the  prospect  of  a  deadly  fray  in  that  remote 
wilderness.  "Let  us  approach  at  once,  dear  uncle  and 
proclaim  ourselves  friends." 

"Good,"  said  the  Tuscarora;  "red  man  cool,  and  know 
pale  face  hurried,  and  fire.  Let  the  squaw  go." 

"What!"  said  Cap  in  astonishment;  "send  little  Magnet 
ahead  as  a  lookout,  while  two  lubbers,  like  you  and  me 
lie  to  to  see  what  sort  of  a  land-fall  she  will  make!     If  I 
do,  I " 

"It  is  wisest,  uncle,"  interrupted  the  generous  girl, 
"and  I  have  no  fear.  No  Christian,  seeing  a  woman  ap 
proach  alone,  would  fire  upon  her;  and  my  presence  will 
be  a  pledge  of  peace.  Let  me  go  forward,  as  Arrowhead 
wishes,  and  all  will  be  well.  We  are,  as  yet,  unseen,  and 
the  surprise  of  the  strangers  will  not  partake  of  alarm." 

"Good,"  returned  Arrowhead,  who  did  not  conceal  his 
approbation  of  Mabel's  spirit. 

"It  has  an  unseaman-like  look,"  answered  Cap;  "but, 
being  in  the  woods,  no  one  will  know  it.  If  you  think, 
Mabel— 

"Uncle,  I  know.  There  is  no  cause  to  fear  for  me;  and 
you  are  always  nigh  to  protect  me." 

"Well,  take  one  of  the  pistols,  then — 

"Nay,  I  had  better  rely  on  my  youth  and  feebleness," 
said  the  girl,  smiling,  while  her  color  heightened  under 
her  feelings.  "Among  Christian  men,  a  woman's  best 
guard  is  her  claim  to  their  protection.  I  know  nothing 
of  arms,  and  wish  to  live  in  ignorance  of  them." 

The  uncle  desisted;  and,  after  receiving  a  few  cautious 
instructions  from  the  Tuscarora,  Mabel  rallied  all  her 
spirit,  and  advanced  alone  towards  the  group  seated  near 
the  fire.  Although  the  heart  of  the  girl  beat  quick,  hi-r 
step  was  firm,  and  her  movements,  seemingly,  were  with 
out  reluctance.  A  death-like  silence  reigned  in  the  for 
est,  for  they  towards  whom  she  approached  were  too  mud 
occupied  in  appeasing  their  hunger  to  avert  their  looks 
for  an  instant  from  the  important  business  in  which  they 
were  all  engaged.  When  Mabel,  however,  had  got  wit. 
a  hundred  feet  of  the  fire,  she  trod  upon  a  dried  stick,  and 
the  trifling  noise  produced  by  her  light  footstep  c 
the  Mohican,  as  Arrowhead  had  pronounced  the  Indian  ' 


12  THE  PATHFINDER 

be,  and  his  companion,  whose  character  had  been  thought 
so  equivocal,  to  rise  to  their  feet,  as  quick  as  thought. 
Both  glanced  at  the  rifles  that  leaned  against  a  tree;  and 
then  each  stood  without  stretching  out  an  arm,  as  his  eyes 
fell  on  the  form  of  the  girl.  The  Indian  uttered  a  few 
words  to  his  companion,  and  resumed  his  seat  and  his 
meal  as  calmly  as  if  no  interruption  had  occurred.  On 
the  contrary,  the  white  man  left  the  fire,  and  came  for 
ward  to  meet  Mabel. 

The  latter  saw,  as  the  stranger  approached,  that  she 
was  about  to  be  addressed  by  one  of  her  own  color,  though 
his  dress  was  so  strange  a  mixture  of  the  habits  of  the 
two  races,  that  it  required  a  near  look  to  be  certain  of  the 
fact.  He  was  of  middle  age;  but  there  was  an  open  hon 
esty,  a  total  absence  of  guile,  in  his  face,  which  otherwise 
would  not  have  been  thought  handsome,  that  at  once  as 
sured  Magnet  she  was  in  no  danger.  Still  she  paused. 

"Fear  nothing,  young  woman,"  said  the  hunter,  for 
such  his  attire  would  indicate  him  to  be;  "you  have  met 
Christian  men  in  the  wilderness,  and  such  as  know  how  to 
treat  all  kindly  who  are  disposed  to  peace  and  justice.  I 
am  a  man  well  known  in  all  these  parts,  and  perhaps  one 
of  my  names  may  have  reached  your  ears.  By  the  Frenchers 
and  the  red-skins  on  the  other  side  of  the  Big  Lakes,  I  am 
called  La  Longue  Carabine;  by  the  Mohicans,  a  just-minded 
and  upright  tribe,  what  is  left  of  them,  Hawk  Eye;  while 
the  troops  and  rangers  along  this  side  of  the  water  call 
me  Pathfinder,  inasmuch  as  I  have  never  been  known  to 
miss  one  end  of  the  trail,  when  there  was  a  Mingo,  or  a 
friend  who  stood  in  need  of  me,  at  the  other." 

This  was  not  uttered  boastfully,  but  with  the  honest 
confidence  of  one  who  well  knew  that  by  whatever  name 
others  might  have  heard  of  him,  he  had  no  reason  to  blush 
at  the  reports.  The  effect  on  Mabel  was  instantaneous. 
The  moment  she  heard  the  last  sobriquet  she  clasped  her 
hands  eagerly  and  repeated  the  word  "Pathfinder!" 

"So  they  call  me,  young  woman,  and  many  a  great  lord 
has  got  a  title  that  he  did  not  half  so  well  merit;  though, 
if  truth  be  said,  I  rather  pride  myself  in  finding  my  way 
where  there  is  no  path,  than  in  finding  it  where  there  is. 
But  the  regular  troops  are  by  no  means  particular,  and 


THE  PATHFINDER  13 

half  the  time  they  don't  know  the  difference  between  a 
trail  and  a  path,  though  one  is  a  matter  for  the  eye,  while 
the  other  is  little  more  than  scent." 

"Then  you  are  the  friend  my  father  promised  to  send 
to  meet  us?" 

"If  you  are  Sergeant  Dunham's  daughter,  the  great 
Prophet  of  the  Delawares  never  uttered  more  truth." 

"I  am  Mabel;  and  yonder,  hid  by  the  trees,  are  my 
uncle,  whose  name  is  Cap,  and  a  Tuscarora  called  Arrow 
head.  We  did  not  hope  to  meet  you  until  we  had  nearly 
reached  the  shores  of  the  lake." 

"I  wish  a  juster-minded  Indian  had  been  your  guide," 
said  Pathfinder;  "for  I  am  no  lover  of  the  Tuscaroras, 
who  have  traveled  too  far  from  the  graves  of  their  fathers 
always  to  remember  the  Great  Spirit;  and  Arrowhead  is 
an  ambitious  chief.  Is  the  Dew-of-June  with  him?" 

"His  wife  accompanies  us,  and  a  humble  and  mild 
creature  she  is." 

"Ay,  and  true-hearted;  which  is  more  than  any  who 
know  him  will  say  of  Arrowhead.  Well,  we  must  take 
the  fare  that  Providence  bestows,  while  we  follow  the 
trail  of  life.  I  suppose  worse  guides  might  have  been 
found  than  the  Tuscorara;  though  he  has  too  much  Mingo 
blood  for  one  who  consorts  altogether  with  the  Delawares. 

"It  is,  then,  perhaps,  fortunate  we  have  met,"  said 

Mabel. 

"It  is  not  misfortunate,  at  any  rate;  for  I  promi 
sergeant  I  would   see   his   child    safe  to  the   garrison, 
though  I  died  for  it.     We  expected  to  meet  you  before 
you  reached  the  Falls,  where  we  have  left  our  own  cane* 
while  we  thought  it  might  do  no  harm  to  come  up  s 
miles,  in  order  to  be  of  service  if  wanted.    It  is  lucky  we 
did,  for  I  doubt  if  Arrowhead  be  the  man  t< 


er    come  my  uncle  and  the  Tuscarora,  and  our  par 
ties  can  now  join."    As  Mabel  concluded,  Cap  and  A 
head    who  saw  that  the  conference  was  amicable, 
ntgh'  and  a  few  words  sufficed  to  let  them  know  as  much 
as  the  girl  herself  had  learned  from  the  strangers 
soon  as  this  was  done,  the  party  proceeded  towards 
two  who  still  remained  near  the  nre. 


CHAPTER  II 

"  Yea  !  long  as  Nature's  humblest  child 
Hath  kept  her  temple  undefiled 

By  simple  sacrifice. 
Earth's  fairest  scenes  are  all  his  own, 
He  is  a  monarch,  and  his  throne 
Is  built  amid  the  skies  !  " 

—WILSON. 

THE  Mohican  continued  to  eat,  though  the  second  white 
man  rose,  and  courteously  took  off  nis  cap  to  Mabel  Dun 
ham.  He  was  young,  healthful,  and  manly  in  appearance; 
and  he  wore  a  dress  which,  while  it  was  less  rigidly  pro 
fessional  than  that  of  the  uncle,  also  denoted  one  accustomed 
to  the  water.  In  that  age,  real  seamen  were  a  class  en 
tirely  apart  from  the  rest  of  mankind,  their  ideas,  ordin 
ary  language,  and  attire  being  as  strongly  indicative  of 
their  calling  as  the  opinions,  speech,  and  dress  of  a  Turk 
denote  a  Mussulman.  Although  the  Pathfinder  was  scarcely 
in  the  prime  of  life,  Mabel  had  met  him  with  a  steadiness 
that  may  have  been  the  consequence  of  having  braced  her 
nerves  for  the  interview;  but  when  her  eyes  encountered 
those  of  the  young  man  at  the  fire,  they  fell  before  the 
gaze  of  admiration  with  which  she  saw,  or  fancied  she 
saw,  he  greeted  her.  Each,  in  truth,  felt  that  interest  in 
the  other  which  similarity  of  age,  condition,  mutual 
comeliness,  and  their  novel  situation  would  be  likely  to 
inspire  in  the  young  and  ingenuous. 

"Here,"  said  Pathfinder,  with  an  honest  smile  bestowed 
on  Mabel,  "are  the  friends  your  worthy  father  had  sent 
to  meet  you.  This  is  a  great  Delaware;  and  one  who  has 
had  honors  as  well  as  troubles  in  his  day.  He  has  an 
Indian  name  fit  for  a  chief,  but,  as  the  language  is  not 
always  easy  for  the  inexperienced  to  pronounce,  we  natur 
ally  turn  it  into  English,  and  call  him  the  Big  Sarpent. 
You  are  not  to  suppose,  however,  that  by  this  name  we 
wish  to  say  that  he  is  treacherous,  beyond  what  is  lawful 
in  a  red-skin;  but  that  he  is  wise,  and  has  the  cunning 

14 


THE  PATHFINDER  15 

which  becomes  a  warrior.     Arrowhead,  there,  knows  what 
I  mean." 

While  the  Pathfinder  was  delivering  this  address,  the 
two  Indians  gazed  on  each  other  steadily,  and  the  Tuscar- 
ora  advanced  and  spoke  to  the  other  in  an  apparently 
friendly  manner. 

"I  like  to  see  this, "  continued  Pathfinder;  "the  salutes 
of  two  red-skins  in  the  woods,  Master  Cap,  are  like  the 
hailing  of  friendly  vessels  on  the  ocean.  But  speaking  of 
water,  it  reminds  me  of  my  young  friend,  Jasper  Western 
here,  who  can  claim  to  know  something  of  these  matters, 
seeing  that  he  has  passed  his  days  on  Ontario." 

"I  am  glad  to  see  you,  friend,"  said  Cap,  giving  the 
young  fresh-water  sailor  a  cordial  grip;  "though  you 
must  have  something  still  to  learn,  considering  the  school 
to  which  you  have  been  sent.  This  is  my  niece,  Mabel; 
I  call  her  Magnet,  for  a  reason  she  never  dreams  of,  though 
you  may  possibly  have  education  enough  to  guess  at  it, 
having  some  pretentions  to  understand  the  compass,  I 
suppose. ' ' 

"The  reason  is  easily  comprehended,"  said  the  young 
man,  involuntarily  fastening  his  keen  dark  eye,  at  the 
same  time,  on  the  suffused  face  of  the  girl;  "and  I  feel 
sure  that  the  sailor  who  steers  by  your  Magnet  will  never 
make  a  bad  land-fall." 

"Ha!  you  do  make  use  of  some  of  the  terms,  I  find,  and 
that  with  propriety;  though,  on  the  whole,  I  fear  you 
have  seen  more  green  than  blue  water. 

"It  is  not  surprising  that  we  should  get  some  of  the 
phrases  which  belong  to  the  land;  for  we  are  seldom  out 
of  sight  of  it  twenty-four  hours  at  a  time." 

"More's  the  pity,  boy,  more's  the  pity!     A  very  1: 
land  ought  to  go  a  great  way  with  a  seafaring  man.  1 
if  the  truth  were  known,  Master  Western,  I  suppose  tner 
is  more  or  less  land  all  round  your  lake." 

"And    uncle,  is  there  not  more  or  less  land  aro 
ocean?"'said  Magnet  quickly;  for  she  dreaded  a  premature 
display  of  the  old  seaman's  peculiar  dogmati 
say  pedantry. 

"No    child,  there  is  more  or  less  ocean  all 
land;  that's  what  I  tell  the  people  ashore,  youngst 


16  THE  PATHFINDER 

are  living,  as  it  might  be,  in  the  midst  of  the  sea,  without 
knowing  it;  by  sufferance,  as  it  were,  the  water  being  so 
much  the  more  powerful  and  the  largest.  But  there  is  no 
end  to  conceit  in  this  world;  for  a  fellow  who  never  saw 
salt  water  often  fancies  he  knows  more  than  one  who  has 
gone  round  the  Horn.  No,  no,  this  earth  is  pretty  much 
an  island;  and  all  that  can  be  truly  said  not  to  be  so  is 
water. ' ' 

Young  Western  had  a  profound  deference  for  a  mariner 
of  the  ocean,  on  which  he  had  often  pined  to  sail;  but  he 
had  also  a  natural  regard  for  the  broad  sheet  on  which  he 
had  passed  his  life,  and  which  was  not  without  its  beauties 
in  his  eyes. 

"What  you  say,  sir,"  he  answered  modestly,  "may  be 
true  as  to  the  Atlantic;  but  we  have  a  respect  for  the  land 
up  here  on  Ontario." 

"That  is  because  you  are  always  land-locked,"  returned 
Cap,  laughing  heartily;  "but  yonder  is  the  Pathfinder,  as 
they  call  him,  with  some  smoking  platters,  inviting  us 
to  share  in  his  mess;  and  I  will  confess  that  one  gets  no 
venison  at  sea.  Master  Western,  civility  to  girls,  at  your 
time  of  life,  comes  as  easy  as  taking  in  the  slack  of  the 
ensign  halyards;  and  if  you  will  just  keep  an  eye  to  her 
kid  and  can,  while  I  join  the  mess  of  the  Pathfinder  and  our 
Indian  friends,  I  make  no  doubt  she  will  remember  it." 

Master  Cap  uttered  more  than  he  was  aware  of  at  the 
time.  Jasper  Western  did  attend  to  the  wants  of  Mabel, 
and  she  long  remembered  the  kind,  manly  attention  of  the 
young  sailor  at  this  their  first  interview.  He  placed  the 
end  of  a  log  for  a  seat,  obtained  for  her  a  delicious  morsel 
of  the  venison,  gave  her  a  draught  of  pure  water  from 
the  spring,  and  as  he  sat  near  her,  fast  won  his  way  to 
her  esteem  by  his  gentle  but  frank  manner  of  manifesting 
his  care;  homage  that  woman  always  wishes  to  receive, 
but  which  is  never  so  flattering  or  so  agreeable  as  when 
it  comes  from  the  young  to  those  of  their  own  age — from 
the  manly  to  the  gentle.  Like  most  of  those  who  pass 
their  time  excluded  from  the  society  of  the  softer  sex, 
young  Western  was  earnest,  sincere,  and  kind  in  his  atten 
tions,  which,  though  they  wanted  a  conventional  refine 
ment,  which,  perhaps,  Mabel  never  missed,  had  those 


THE  PATHFINDER  17 

winning  qualities  that  prove  very  sufficient  as  substitutes. 
Leaving  these  two  unsophisticated  young  people  to  become 
acquainted  through  their  feelings,  rather  than  their  ex 
pressed  thoughts,  we  will  turn  to  the  group  in  which  the 
uncle  had  already  become  a  principal  actor. 

The  party  had  taken  their  places  around  a  platter  of 
venison  steaks,  which  served  for  the  common  use,  and  the 
discourse  naturally  partook  of  the  characters  of  the  differ 
ent  individuals  which  composed  it.  The  Indians  were 
silent  and  industrious,  the  appetite  of  the  aboriginal 
American  for  venison  being  seemingly  inappeasable,  while 
the  two  white  men  were  communicative,  each  of  the  lat 
ter  being  garrulous  and  opinionated  in  his  way.  But,  as 
the  dialogue  will  put  the  reader  in  possession  of  certain 
facts  that  may  render  the  succeeding  narrative  more  clear, 
it  will  be  well  to  record  it. 

"There  must  be  satisfaction  in  this  life  of  yours,  no 
doubt,  Mr.  Pathfinder, ' '  continued  Cap,  when  the  hunger 
of  the  travelers  was  so  far  appeased  that  they  began  to  pick 
and  choose  among  the  savory  morsels;  "it  has  some  of 
the  chances  and  luck  that  we  seamen  like;  and  if  ours  is 
all  water,  yours  is  all  land." 

"Nay,  we  have  water  too,  in  our  journeyings  and 
marches, ' '  returned  his  white  companion;  "we  border-men 
handle  the  paddle  and  the  spear  almost  as  much  as  the 
rifle  and  the  hunting-knife." 

"Ay;  but  do  you  handle  the  brace  and  the  bow-1 
the  wheel  and  the  lead-line,  the  reef-point  and  the  top- 
rope?     The  paddle  is  a  good  thing,   out^of  doubt,  in  a 
canoe;  but  of  what  use  is  it  in  the  ship?" 

"Nay    I  respect  all  men  in  their  callings,  and  I  a 
lieve  the  things  you  mention  have  their  uses.     One  who 
has  lived,  like  myself,  in  company  with  many  tribes,  u 
derstands  differences  in  usages.    The  paint  of  a  Mmgc 
not  the  paint  of  a  Delaware;  and  he  who  should  ex] 
to  see  a  warrior  in  the  dress  of  a  squaw  might  be  dil 
pointed.     I  am  not  yet  very  old,  but  I  have  lived  in  the 
woods,  and  have  some  acquaintance  ^hnwaitar. 
I  never  believe  much  in  the  learning  of [them  tha :  d» eU 
in  towns,  for  I  never  yet  met  with  one  that  had  an  e. 
a  rifle  or  a  trail." 


IS  THE  PATHFINDER 

"That's  my  manner  of  reasoning,  Master  Pathfinder,  to 
a  yarn.  Walking  about  streets,  going  to  church  of  Sun 
days,  and  hearing  sermons,  never  yet  made  a  man  of  a 
human  being.  Send  the  boy  out  upon  the  broad  ocean,  if 
you  wish  to  open  his  eyes,  and  let  him  look  upon  foreign 
nations,  or  what  I  call  the  face  of  nature,  if  you  wish  him 
to  understand  his  own  character.  Now,  there  is  my 
brother-in-law,  the  sergeant;  he  is  as  good  a  fellow  as 
ever  broke  a  biscuit,  in  his  way;  but  what  is  he,  after 
all?  Why,  nothing  but  a  soldier.  A  sergeant,  to  be  sure, 
but  that  is  a  sort  of  a  soldier,  you  know.  When  he  wished 
to  marry  poor  Bridget,  my  sister,  I  told  the  girl  what  he 
was,  as  in  duty  bound,  and  what  she  might  expect  from 
such  a  husband;  but  you  know  how  it  is  with  girls  when 
their  minds  are  jammed  by  an  inclination.  It  is  true,  the 
sergeant  has  risen  in  his  calling,  and  they  say  he  is  an 
important  man  at  the  fort;  but  his  poor  wife  has  not  lived 
to  see  it  all,  for  she  has  now  been  dead  these  fourteen 
years. ' ' 

"A  soldier's  calling  is  honorable,  provided  he  has  fi't 
only  on  the  side  of  right,"  returned  the  Pathfinder;  "and 
as  the  Frenchers  are  always  wrong,  and  his  sacred  Majesty 
and  these  colonies  are  always  right,  I  take  it  the  sergeant 
has  a  quiet  conscience  as  well  as  a  good  character.  I 
have  never  slept  more  sweetly  than  when  I  have  fi't  the 
Mingoes,  though  it  is  the  law  with  me  to  fight  always  like 
a  white  man  and  never  like  an  Indian.  The  Sarpent,  here, 
has  his  fashions,  and  I  have  mine;  and  yet  have  we  fi't 
side  by  side  these  many  years,  without  either  thinking  a 
hard  thought  consarning  the  other's  ways.  I  tell  him 
there  is  but  one  heaven  and  one  hell,  notwithstanding  his 
traditions,  though  there  are  many  paths  to  both." 

"That  is  rational;  and  he  is  bound  to  believe  you, 
though,  I  fancy,  most  of  the  roads  to  the  last  are  on  dry 
land.  The  sea  is  what  my  poor  sister  Bridget  used  to  call 
a  'purifying  place,'  and  one  is  out  of  the  way  of  tempta 
tion  when  out  of  sight  of  land.  I  doubt  if  as  much  can 
be  said  in  favor  of  your  lakes  up  here  away." 

"That  towns  and  settlements  lead  to  sin,  I  will  allow; 
but  our  lakes  are  bordered  by  the  forests,  and  one  is  every 
day  called  upon  to  worship  God  in  such  a  temple.  That 


THE  PATHFINDER  19 

men  are  not  always  the  same,  even  in  the  wilderness,  I 
must  admit,  for  the  difference  between  a  Mingo  and  a 
Delaware  is  as  plain  to  be  seen  as  the  difference  between 
the  sun  and  the  moon.  I  am  glad,  friend  Cap,  that  we 
have  met,  however,  if  it  be  only  that  you  may  tell  the  Big 
Sarpent  here  that  there  are  lakes  in  which  the  water  is 
salt.  We  have  been  pretty  much  of  one  mind  since  our 
acquaintance  began,  and  if  the  Mohican  has  only  half  the 
faith  in  me  that  I  have  in  him,  he  believes  all  that  I  have 
told  him  touching  the  white  men's  ways  and  natur's  laws; 
but  it  has  always  seemed  to  me  that  none  of  the  red-skins 
have  given  as  free  a  belief  as  an  honest  man  likes  to  the 
accounts  of  the  Big  Salt  Lakes,  and  to  that  of  their  being 
rivers  that  flow  up  stream." 

"This  comes  of  getting  things  wrong  end  foremost," 
answered  Cap,  with  a  condescending  nod.  "You  have 
thought  of  your  lakes  and  rifts  as  the  ship;  and  of  the 
ocean  and  the  tides  as  the  boat.  Neither  Arrowhead  nor 
the  Sarpent  need  doubt  what  you  have  said  concerning 
both,  though  I  confess  myself  to  some  difficulty  in  swal 
lowing  the  tale  about  there  being  inland  seas  at  all,  and 
still  more  that  there  is  any  sea  of  fresh  water.  I  have 
come  this  long  journey  as  much  to  satisfy  my  own  eyes 
concerning  these  facts,  as  to  oblige  the  sergeant  and  Mag 
net,  though  the  first  was  my  sister's  husband,  and  I  love 
the  last  like  a  child." 

"You  are  wrong,  friend  Cap,  very  wrong,  to  distrust 
the  power  of  God  in  anything,"  returned  Pathfinder  ear 
nestly.    "They  that  live  in  the  settlements  and  the  towns 
have  confined  and  unjust  opinions  consarning  the  might 
of  His  hand;  but  we,  who  pass  our  time  in  His  very  pres 
ence,  as  it  might  be,  see  things  differently— I  mean,  s 
of  us  as  have  white  natur's.     A  red-skin  has  his  notions, 
and  it  is  right  that  it  should  be  so;  and  if  they  are  i 
exactly  the  same  as  a  Christian  white  man's   there  i 
harm  in  it.     Still,  there  are  matters  which  belong  alt( 
gether  to  the  ordering  of  God's  providence;  and  these  salt 
and  fresh-water  lakes  are  some  of  them.    I  do  not  pretend 
to  account  for  thesettings,  but  I  think  it  the  duty  of  all 

,'  Master  Pathfinder,"  interrupted  Cap, 


20  THE  PATHFINDER 

not  without  some  heat;  "in  the  way  of  a  proper  and  manly 
faith,  I  will  turn  my  back  on  no  one,  when  afloat.  Al 
though  more  accustomed  to  make  all  snug  aloft,  and  to 
show  the  proper  canvas,  than  to  pray  when  the  hurricane 
comes,  I  know  that  we  are  but  helpless  mortals  at  times, 
and  I  hope  I  pay  reverence  where  reverence  is  due.  All  I 
mean  to  say  is  this:  that,  being  accustomed  to  see  water 
in  large  bodies,  salt,  I  should  like  to  taste  it  before  I  can 
believe  it  to  be  fresh." 

"God  has  given  the  salt  lick  to  the  deer;  and  He  has 
given  to  man,  red-skin  and  white,  the  delicious  spring  at 
which  to  slake  his  thirst.  It  is  unreasonable  to  think  that 
He  may  not  have  given  lakes  of  pure  water  to  the  west, 
and  lakes  of  impure  water  to  the  east." 

Cap  was  awed,  in  spite  of  his  overweening  dogmatism, 
by  the  earnest  simplicity  of  the  Pathfinder,  though  he  did 
not  relish  the  idea  of  believing  a  fact  which,  for  many 
years,  he  had  pertinaciously  insisted  could  not  be  true. 
Unwilling  to  give  up  the  point,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
unable  to  maintain  it  against  a  reasoning  to  which  he  was 
unaccustomed,  and  which  possessed  equally  the  force  of 
truth,  faith,  and  probability,  he  was  glad  to  get  rid  of 
the  subject  by  evasion. 

"Well,  well,  friend  Pathfinder,"  said  he,  "we  will 
leave  the  argument  where  it  is;  and  we  can  try  the  water 
when  we  once  reach  it.  Only  mark  my  words — I  do  not 
say  that  it  may  not  be  fresh  on  the  surface;  the  Atlantic 
is  sometimes  fresh  on  the  surface,  near  the  mouths  of 
great  rivers;  but,  rely  on  it,  I  shall  show  you  a  way  of 
tasting  the  water  many  fathoms  deep,  of  which  you  never 
dreamed ;  and  then  we  shall  know  more  about  it. ' ' 

The  guide  seemed  content  to  let  the  matter  rest,  and 
the  conversation  changed. 

"We  are  not  over-conceited  consarning  our  gifts,"  ob 
served  the  Pathfinder,  after  a  short  pause,  "and  well  know 
that  such  as  live  in  the  towns,  and  near  the  sea " 

"On  the  sea,"  interrupted  Cap. 

"On  the  sea,  if  you  wish  it,  friend — have  opportunities 
which  do  not  befall  us  of  the  wilderness.  Still,  we  know 
our  own  callings,  and  they  are  what  I  consider  natural 
callings,  and  are  not  parvarted  by  vanity  and  wantonness. 


THE  PATHFINDER  21 

Now,  my  gifts  are  with  the  rifle,  and  on  a  trail,  and  in 
the  way  of  game  and  scouting;  for,  though  I  can  use  the 
spear  and  the  paddle,  I  pride  not  myself  on  either.  The 
youth  Jasper,  there,  who  is  discoursing  with  the  sergeant's 
daughter,  is  a  different  creatur' ;  for  he  may  be  said  to 
breathe  the  water,  as  it  might  be,  like  a  fish.  The  Indians 
and  Frenchers  of  the  north  shore  call  him  Eau-douce,  on 
account  of  his  gifts  in  this  particular.  He  is  better  at 
the  oar,  and  the  rope,  too,  than  in  making  fires  on  a  trail." 

"There  must  be  something  about  these  gifts  of  which 
you  speak,  after  all,"  said  Cap.  "Now  this  fire,  I  will 
acknowledge,  has  overlaid  all  my  seamanship.  Arrow 
head,  there,  said  the  smoke  came  from  a  pale  face's  fire, 
and  that  is  a  piece  of  philosophy  which  I  hold  to  be  equal 
to  steering  in  a  dark  night  by  the  edges  of  the  sand." 

"It's  no  great  secret,"  returned  Pathfinder,  laughing 
with  great  inward  glee,  though  habitual  caution  prevented 
the  emission  of  any  noise.  "Nothing  is  easier  to  us  who 
pass  our  time  in  the  great  school  of  Providence  than  to 
larn  its  lessons.  We  should  be  as  useless  on  a  trail,  or 
in  carrying  tidings  through  the  wilderness,  as  so  many 
wood-chucks,  did  we  not  soon  come  to  a  knowledge  of 
these  niceties.  Eau-douce,  as  we  call  him,  is  so  fond  of 
the  water,  that  he  gathered  a  damp  stick  or  two  for  our 
fire;  and  wet  will  bring  dark  smoke,  as  I  suppose  even 
you  followers  of  the  sea  must  know.  It's  no  great  secret, 
though  all  is  mystery  to  such  as  doesn't  study  the  Lord 
and  His  mighty  ways  with  humility  and  thankfulness.' 

"That  must  be  a  keen  eye  of  Arrowhead's  to  see  so 
slight  a  difference." 

"He  would  be  but  a  poor  Indian  if  he  didn  t.    No,  n 
it  is  war-time,  and  no  red-skin  is  outlying  without  using 
his  senses.     Every  skin  has  its  own  natur',  and  every 
natur'  has  its  own  laws,  as  well  as  its  own  skin 
many  years  before  I  could  master  all  these  higher  branches 
of  a  forest  education;    for  red-skin    knowledge  doesn  t 
come  as  easy  to  white-skin  natur',  as  what  I  supp. 
intended  to  be  white-skin  knowledge;  though  I  have 
little  of  the  latter,  having  passed  most  of  my  t 

been  a  ready  scholar,  Master  Pathfinder,  as 


22  THE  PATHFINDER 

is  seen  by  your  understanding  these  things  so  well.  I  sup 
pose  it  would  be  no  great  matter  for  a  man  regularly 
brought  up  to  the  sea  to  catch  these  trifles,  if  he  could 
only  bring  his  mind  fairly  to  bear  upon  them." 

"I  don't  know  that.  The  white  man  has  his  difficulties 
in  getting  red-skin  habits,  quite  as  much  as  the  Indian  in 
getting  white-skin  ways.  As  for  the  real  natur',  it  is  my 
opinion  that  neither  can  actually  get  that  of  the  other." 

'  'And  yet  we  sailors,  who  run  about  the  world  so  much, 
say  there  is  but  one  nature,  whether  it  be  in  the  China 
man  or  a  Dutchman.  For  my  own  part,  I  am  much  of 
that  way  of  thinking,  too;  for  I  have  generally  found  that 
all  nations  like  gold  and  silver,  and  most  men  relish 
tobacco." 

"Then  you  seafaring  men  know  little  of  the  red-skins. 
Have  you  ever  known  any  of  your  Chinamen  who  could 
sing  their  death-songs,  with  their  flesh  torn  with  splinters 
and  cut  with  knives,  the  fire  raging  around  their  naked 
bodies,  and  death  staring  them  in  the  face?  Until  you 
can  find  me  a  Chinaman,  or  a  Christian  man,  that  can  do 
all  this,  you  cannot  find  a  man  with  a  red-skin  natur',  let 
him  look  ever  so  valiant,  or  know  how  to  read  all  the  books 
that  were  ever  printed." 

"It  is  the  savages  only  that  play  each  other  such  hellish 
tricks,"  said  Master  Cap,  glancing  his  eyes  about  him 
uneasily  at  the  apparently  endless  arches  of  the  forest. 
"No  white  man  is  ever  condemned  to  undergo  these 
trials." 

"Nay,  therein  you  are  again  mistaken,"  returned  the 
Pathfinder,  coolly  selecting  a  delicate  morsel  of  the  venison 
as  his  bonne  bouche;  "for  though  these  torments  belong 
only  to  the  red-skin  natur',  in  the  way  of  bearing  them 
like  braves,  white-skin  natur'  may  be,  and  often  has  been 
agonized  by  them." 

"Happily,"  said  Cap,  with  an  effort  to  clear  his  throat, 
"none  of  his  Majesty's  allies  will  be  likely  to  attempt 
such  damnable  cruelties  on  any  of  his  Majesty's  loyal 
subjects.  I  have  not  served  much  in  the  royal  navy,  it 
is  true;  but  I  have  served,  and  that  is  something;  and,  in 
the  way  of  privateering  and  worrying  the  enemy  in  his 
ships  and  cargoes,  I've  done  my  full  share.  But  I  trust 


THE  PATHFINDER  23 

there  are  no  French  savages  on  this  side  the  lake,  and  I 
think  you  said  that  Ontario  is  a  broad  sheet  of  water?" 

"Nay,  it  is  broad  in  our  eyes,"  returned  Pathfinder 
not  caring  to  conceal  the  smile  which  lighted  a  face  which 
had  been  burnt  by  exposure  to  a  bright  red;  "though  I 
mistrust  that  some  may  think  it  narrow;  and  narrow  it  is 
if  you  wish  it  to  keep  off  the  foe.     Ontario  has  two  ends! 
and  the  enemy  that  is  afraid  to  cross  it  will  be  certain  to 
come  round  it." 

"Ah!  that  comes  of  your  d d  fresh- water  ponds!" 

growled  Cap,  hemming  so  loudly  as  to  cause  him  instantly 
to  repent  the  indiscretion.  "No  man,  now,  ever  heard  of 
a  pirate  or  a  ship  getting  round  one  end  of  the  Atlantic!" 

"Mayhap  the  ocean  has  no  ends?" 

"That  it  hasn't;  nor  sides,  nor  bottom.  The  nation 
which  is  snugly  moored  on  one  of  its  coasts  need  fear 
nothing  from  the  one  anchored  abeam,  let  it  be  ever  so 
savage,  unless  it  possesses  the  art  of  ship-building.  No, 
no!  the  people  who  live  on  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic  need 
fear  but  little  for  their  skins  or  their  scalps.  A  man  may 
lie  down  at  night,  in  those  regions,  in  the  hope  of  finding 
the  hair  on  his  head  in  the  morning,  unless  he  wears  a 
wig." 

"It  isn't  so  here.  I  don't  wish  to  flurry  the  young 
woman,  and  therefore  I  will  be  in  no  way  particular, 
though  she  seems  pretty  much  listening  to  Eau-douce,  as 
we  call  him;  but  without  theedication  I  have  received,  I 
should  think  it,  at  this  very  moment,  a  risky  journey  to 
go  over  the  very  ground  that  lies  between  us  and  the  gar 
rison,  in  the  present  state  of  this  frontier.  There  are 
about  as  many  Iroquois  on  this  side  of  Ontario  as  there 
are  on  the  other.  It  is  for  this  very  reason,  friend  Cap, 
that  the  sergeant  has  engaged  us  to  come  out  and  showl 
you  the  path." 

"What!  do  the  knaves  dare  to  cruise  so  near  the  guns 
of  one  of  his  Majesty's  works?" 

"Do  not  the  ravens  resort  near  the  carcass  of  the  deer, 
though  the  fowler  is  at  hand?     They  come  this-away,  as 
it  might  be,  naturally.     There  are  more  or  less  whi 
passing  between  the  forts  and  the  settlements,  and  they 
are  sure  to  be  on  their  trails.     The  Sarpent  has  come  up 


24  THE  PATHFINDER 

one  side  of  the  river,  and  I  have  come  up  the  other,  in 
order  to  scout  for  the  outlying  rascals,  while  Jasper 
brought  up  the  canoe,  like  a  bold-hearted  sailor  as  he  is. 
The  sergeant  told  him, "with  tears  in  his  eyes,  all  about 
his  child,  and  how  his  heart  yearned  for  her,  and  how 
gentle  and  obedient  she  was,  until  I  think  the  lad  would 
have  dashed  into  a  Mingo  camp  single-handed,  rather 
than  not  a-come. ' ' 

"We  thank  him,  and  shall  think  the  better  of  him  for 
his  readiness;  though  I  suppose  the  boy  has  run  no  great 
risk,  after  all." 

"Only  the  risk  of  being  shot  from  a  cover,  as  he  forced 
the  canoe  up  a  swift  rift,  or  turned  an  elbow  in  the 
stream,  with  his  eyes  fastened  on  the  eddies.  Of  all  the 
risky  journeys,  that  on  an  ambushed  river  is  the  most 
risky,  in  my  judgment,  and  that  risk  has  Jasper  run." 

"And  why  the  devil  has  the  sergeant  sent  for  me  to 
travel  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles  in  this  outlandish  man 
ner?  Give  me  an  offing,  and  the  enemy  in  sight,  and  I'll 
play  with  him  in  his  own  fashion,  as  long  as  he  pleases, 
long  bows  or  close  quarters;  but  to  be  shot  like  a  turtle 
asleep  is  not  to  my  humor.  If  it  were  not  for  little  Mag 
net  there,  I  would  tack  ship  this  instant,  make  the  best 
of  my  way  back  to  York,  and  let  Ontario  take  care  of 
itself,  salt  water  or  fresh  water." 

"That  wouldn't  mend  the  matter  much,  friend  mar 
iner,  as  the  road  to  return  is  much  longer,  and  almost  as 
bad  as  the  road  to  go  on.  Trust  to  us,  and  we  will  carry 
you  through  safely,  or  lose  our  scalps. ' ' 

Cap  wore  a  tight  solid  queue,  done  up  in  eelskin,  while 
the  top  of  his  head  was  nearly  bald;  and  he  mechanically 
passed  his  hand  over  both,  as  if  to  make  certain  that  each 
was  in  its  right  place.  He  was  at  the  bottom,  however, 
a  brave  man,  and  had  often  faced  death  with  coolness, 
though  never  in  the  frightful  forms  in  which  it  presented 
itself  under  the  brief  but  graphic  picture  of  his  com 
panion.  It  was  too  late  to  retreat;  and  he  determined  to 
put  the  best  face  on  the  matter,  though  he  could  not  avoid 
muttering  inwardly  a  few  curses  on  the  indiscretion  with 
which  his  brother-in-law,  the  sergeant,  had  led  him  into 
his  present  dilemma. 


THE  PATHFINDER  25 

"I  make  no  doubt,  Master  Pathfinder,"  he  answered, 
when  these  thoughts  had  found  time  to  glance  through 
his  mind,  "that  we  shall  reach  port  in  safety.  What  dis 
tance  may  we  now  be  from  the  fort?" 

"Little  more  than  fifteen  miles;  and  swift  miles,  too, 
as  the  river  runs,  if  the  Mingoes  let  us  go  clear." 

"And  I  suppose  the  woods  will  .stretch  along  starboard 
and  larboard,  as  heretofore?" 

"Anan?" 

"I  mean  that  we  shall  have  to  pick  our  way  through 
these  damned  trees." 

"Nay,  nay,  you  will  go  in  the  canoe,  and  the  Oswego 
has  been  cleared  of  its  flood -wood  by  the  troops.  It  will  be 
floating  down  stream,  and  that,  too,  with  a  swift  current." 
"And  what  the  devil  is  to  prevent  these  minks  of 
which  you  speak  from  shooting  us  as  we  double  a  head 
land,  or  are  busy  in  steering  clear  of  the  rocks?" 

"The  Lord!  He  who  has  so  often  helped  others  in 
greater  difficulties.  Many  and  many  is  the  time  that  my 
head  would  have  been  stripped  of  hair,  skin,  and  all, 
hadn't  the  Lord  fi't  of  my  side.  I  never  go  into  a  scirm- 
mage,  friend  mariner,  without  thinking  of  this  great 
ally,  who  can  do  more  in  battle  than  all  the  battalions  of 
the  60th,  were  they  brought  into  a  single  line." 

"Ay,  ay,  this  may  do  well  enough  for  a  scouter;  but  we 
seamen  like  our  offing,  and  to  go  into  action  with  nothing 
in  our  minds  but  the  business  before  us — plain  broadside 
and  broadside  work,  and  no  trees  or  rocks  to  thicken  the 
water. ' ' 

"And  no  Lord,  too,  I  dare  to  say,  if  the  truth  were 
known.     Take  my  word  for  it,  Master  Cap,  that  no  battle 
is  the  worse  fi't  for  having  the  Lord  on  your  side.     Look 
at  the  head  of  the  Big  Sarpent,  there;  you  can  see  the 
mark  of  a  knife  all  along  by  his  left  ear;  now  nothing  but 
a  bullet  from  this  long  rifle  of  mine  saved  his  scalp  that 
day;  for  it  had  fairly  started,   and  half  a  minute  more 
would  have  left  him  without  the  war-lock.     When  the 
Mohican  squeezes  my  hand,   and   intermates  that  ] 
friended  him  in  that  matter,  I  tell  him  no;  it  was  1 
Lord  who  led  me  to  the  only  spot  where  execution  coi 
be  done,  or  his  necessity  be  made  known,  on  account  < 


26  THE  PATHFINDER 

the  smoke.  Sartain,  when  I  got  the  right  position,  I  fin 
ished  the  affair  of  my  own  accord.  For  a  friend  under 
the  tomahawk  is  apt  to  make  a  man  think  quick  and  act 
at  once,  as  was  my  case,  or  the  Sarpent's  spirit  would  be 
hunting  in  the  happy  land  of  his  people  at  this  very 
moment." 

"Come,  come,  Pathfinder,  this  palaver  is  worse  than 
being  skinned  from  stem  to  stem;  we  have  but  a  few 
hours  of  sun,  and. had  better  be  drifting  down  this  said 
current  of  yours  while  we  may.  Magnet,  dear,  are  you 
not  ready  to  get  under  way?" 

Magnet  started,  blushed  brightly,  and  made  her  prep 
arations  for  immediate  departure.  Not  a  syllable  of  the 
discourse  just  related  had  she  heard;  for  Eau-douce,  as 
young  Jasper  was  oftener  called  than  anything  else,  had 
been  filling  her  ears  with  a  description  of  the  yet  distant 
part  towards  which  she  was  journeying,  with  accounts  of 
her  father,  whom  she  had  not  seen  since  a  child,  and  with 
the  manner  of  life  of  those  who  lived  in  the  frontier  gar 
risons.  Unconsciously  she  had  become  deeply  interested, 
and  her  thoughts  had  been  too  intently  directed  to  these 
matters  to  allow  any  of  the  less  agreeable  subjects  dis 
cussed  by  those  so  near  to  reach  her  ears.  The  bustle  of 
departure  put  an  end  to  the  conversation,  and,  the  baggage 
of  the  scouts  or  guides  being  trifling,  in  a  few  minutes 
the  whole  party  was  ready  to  proceed.  As  they  were  about 
to  quit  the  spot,  however,  to  the  surprise  of  even  his  fel 
low-guides,  Pathfinder  collected  a  quantity  of  branches 
and  threw  them  upon  the  embers  of  the  fire,  taking  care 
even  to  see  that  some  of  the  wood  was  damp,  in  order  to 
raise  as  dark  and  dense  a  smoke  as  possible. 

"When  you  can  hide  your  trail,  Jasper,"  said  he,  "a 
smoke  at  leaving  an  encampment  may  do  good  instead  of 
harm.  If  there  are  a  dozen  Mingoes  within  ten  miles  of 
us,  some  on  'em  are  on  the  heights,  or  in  the  trees,  look 
ing  out  for  smokes,  let  them  see  this,  and  much  good  may 
it  do  them.  They  are  welcome  to  our  leavings." 

"But  may  they  not  strike  and  follow  on  our  trail?" 
asked  the  youth,  whose  interest  in  the  hazard  of  his  situ 
ation  had  much  increased  since  the  meeting  with  Magnet. 
•"We  shall  leave  a  broad  path  to  the  river," 


THE  PATHFINDER  27 

"The  broader  the  better;  when  there,  it  will  surpass 
Mingo  cunning,  even,  to  say  which  way  the  canoe  has 
gone— up  stream  or  down.  Water  is  the  only  thing  in 
natur'  that  will  thoroughly  wash  out  a  trail,  and  even 
water  will  not  always  do  it  when  the  scent  is  strong.  Do 
you  not  see,  Eau-douce,  that  if  any  Mingoes  have  seen  our 
path  below  the  falls,  they  will  strike  off  towards  this 
smoke,  and  that  they  will  naturally  conclude  that  who 
began  by  going  up  stream  will  end  by  going  up  stream. 
If  they  know  anything,  they  now  know  a  party  is  out 
from  the  fort,  and  it  will  exceed  even  Mingo  wit  to  fancy 
that  we  have  come  up  here  just  for  the  pleasure  of  going 
back  again,  and  that,  too,  the  same  day,  and  at  the  risk 
of  our  scalps. ' ' 

"Certainly,"  added  Jasper,  who  was  talking  apart  with 
the  Pathfinder,  as  they  moved  towards,  the  wind-row, 
"they  cannot  know  anything  about  the  sergeant's  daugh 
ter,  for  the  greatest  secrecy  has  been  observed  on  her 
account. ' ' 

"And  they  will  learn  nothing  here,"  returned  Path 
finder,  causing  his  companion  to  see  that  he  trod  with  the 
utmost  care  on  the  impression  left  on  the  leaves  by  the 
little  foot  of  Mabel;  "unless  this  old  salt-water  fish  has 
been  taking  his  niece  about  in  the  wind-row,  like  a  fa'n 
playing  by  the  side  of  the  old  doe." 

"Buck,  you  mean,  Pathfinder." 

"Isn't  he  a  queerity?  Now  I  can  consort  with  such 
a  sailor  as  yourself,  Eau-douce,  and  find  nothing  very 
contrary  in  our  gifts,  though  yours  belong  to  the  lakes 
and  mine  to  the  woods.  Hark'e,  Jasper,"  continued  the 
scout,  laughing  in  his  noiseless  manner;  "suppose  we  try 
the  temper  of  his  blade,  and  run  him  over  the  falls?' 

"And  what  would  be  done  with  the  pretty  niece  in  the 
meanwhile?" 

"Nay,  nay,  no  harm  shall  come  to  her;  she  must  walk 
round  the  portage,  at  any  rate;  but  you  and  I  can  try 
this  Atlantic  oceaner,  and  then  all  parties  will  become 
better  acquainted.  We  shall  find  out  whether  his  flint 
will  strike  fire;  and  he  may  come  to  know  something  of 
frontier  tricks." 

Young   Jasper  smiled,  for  he  was  not  averse  to  fun, 


28  THE  PATHFINDER 

and  had  been  a  little  touched  by  Cap's  superciliousness; 
but  Mabel's  fair  face,  light,  agile  form,  and  winning 
smiles,  stood  like  a  shield  between  her  uncle  and  the 
intended  experiment. 

"Perhaps  the  sergeant's  daughter  will  be  frightened," 
said  he. 

"Not  she,  if  she  has  any  of  the  sergeant's  spirit  in 
her.  She  doesn't  look  like  a  skeary  thing,  at  all.  Leave 
it  to  me,  then,  Eau-douce,  and  I  will  manage  the  affair 
alone." 

"Not  you,  Pathfinder;  you  would  only  drown  both.  If 
the  canoe  goes  over,  I  must  go  in  it." 

"Well,  have  it  so,  then;  shall  we  smoke  the  pipe  of 
agreement  on  the  bargain?" 

Jasper  laughed,  nodded  his  head  by  way  of  consent,  and 
then  the  subject  was  dropped,  as  the  party  had  reached 
the  canoe  so  often  mentioned,  and  fewer  words  had  de 
termined  much  greater  things  between  the  parties. 


CHAPTER  III 

"Before  these  fields  were  shorn  and  till'd. 

Full  to  the  brim  our  rivers  flow'd  ; 
The  melody  of  waters  fill'd 

The  fresh  and  boundless  wood  ; 
And  torrents  dash'd,  and  rivulets  play'd 
And  fountains  spouted  in  the  shade.  " 

-  BRYANT. 

IT  is  generally  known  that  the  waters  which  flow  into 
the  southern  side  of  Ontario  are,  in  general,  narrow, 
sluggish,  and  deep.  There  are  some  exceptions  to  this 
rule,  for  many  of  the  rivers  have  rapids,  or,  as  they  are 
termed  in  the  language  of  the  region,  "rifts,"  and  some 
have  falls.  Among  the  latter  was  the  particular  stream 
on  which  our  adventurers  were  now  journeying.  The 
Oswego  is  formed  by  the  junction  of  the  Oneida  and  the 
Onondaga,  both  of  which  flow  from  lakes;  and  it  pursues 
its  way,  through  a  gently  undulating  country,  some  eight 
or  ten  miles,  until  it  reaches  the  margin  of  a  sort  of 
natural  terrace,  down  which  it  tumbles  some  ten  or  fifteen 
feet,  to  another  level,  across  which  it  glides  with  the 
silent,  stealthy  progress  of  deep  water,  until  it  throws  its 
tribute  into  the  broad  receptacle  of  the  Ontario.  The 
canoe  in  which  Cap  and  his  party  had  traveled  from  Fort 
Stanwix,  the  last  military  station  on  the  Mahawk,  lay  by 
the  side  of  this  river,  and  into  it  the  whole  party  now 
entered,  with  the  exception  of  Pathfinder,  who  remained 
on  the  land,  in  order  to  shove  the  light  vessel  off. 

"Let  her  starn  drift  down  stream,  Jasper,"  said  tht- 
man  of  the  woods  to  the  young  mariner  of  the  lake,  who 
had  dispossessed  Arrowhead  of  his  paddle  and  taken  his 
own  station  as  steersman;  "let  it  go  down  with  the  cur 
rent.  Should  any  of  these  infarnals,  the  Mingoes,  strike 
our  trail,  or  follow  it  to  this  point,  they  will  not  fail  to 
look  for  the  signs  in  the  mud;  and  if  they  discover  that 
we  have  left  the  shore  with  the  nose  of  the  canoe  up 
stream,  it  is  a  natural  belief  to  think  we  went  up  stream." 

29 


30  THE  PATHFINDER 

This  direction  was  followed;  and,  giving  a  vigorous 
shove,  the  Pathfinder,  who  was  in  the  flower  of  his  strength 
and  activity,  made  a  leap,  landing  lightly,  and  without 
disturbing  its  equilibrium,  in  the  bow  of  the  canoe.  As 
soon  as  it  had  reached  the  center  of  the  river  or  the 
strength  of  the  current,  the  boat  was  turned,  and  it 
began  to  glide  noiselessly  down  the  stream. 

The  vessel  in  which  Cap  and  his  niece  had  embarked  for 
their  long  and  adventurous  journey  was  one  of  the  canoes 
of  bark  which  the  Indians  are  in  the  habit  of  construct 
ing,  and  which,  by  their  exceeding  lightness  and  the  ease 
with  which  they  are  propelled,  are  admirably  adapted  to 
a  navigation  in  which  shoals,  flood-wood,  and  other  similar 
obstructions  so  often  occur.  The  two  men  who  composed 
its  original  crew  had  several  times  carried  it,  when 
emptied  of  its  luggage,  many  hundred  yards;  and  it 
would  not  have  exceeded  the  strength  of  a  single  man  to 
lift  its  weight.  Still  it  was  long,  and,  for  a  canoe,  wide; 
a  want  of  steadiness  being  its  principal  defect  in  the  eyes 
of  the  uninitiated.  A  few  hours'  practice,  however,  in 
a  great  measure  remedied  this  evil,  and  both  Mabel  and 
her  uncle  had  learned  so  far  to  humor  its  movements, 
that  they  now  maintained  their  places  with  perfect  com 
posure;  nor  did  the  additional  weight  of  the  three  guides 
tax  its  power  in  any  particular  degree,  the  breadth  of  the 
rounded  bottom  allowing  the  necessary  quantity  of  water 
to  be  displaced  without  bringing  the  gunwale  very  sensi 
bly  nearer  to  the  surface  of  the  stream.  Its  workmanship 
was  neat;  the  timbers  were  small,  and  secured  by  thongs; 
and  the  whole  fabric,  though  it  was  so  slight  to  the  eye, 
was  probably  capable  of  conveying  double  the  number  of 
persons  which  it  now  contained. 

Cap  was  seated  on  a  low  thwart,  in  the  center  of  the 
canoe;  the  Big  Serpent  knelt  near  him.  Arrowhead  and 
his  wife  occupied  places  forward  of  both,  the  former 
having  relinquished  his  post  aft.  Mabel  was  half  reclin 
ing  behind  her  uncle,  while  the  Pathfinder  and  Eau-douce 
stood  erect,  the  one  in  the  bow,  and  the  other  in  the 
stern,  each  using  a  paddle,  with  a  long,  steady,  noiseless 
sweep.  The  conversation  was  carried  on  in  low  tones,  all 
the  party  beginning  to  feel  the  necessity  of  prudence,  as 


THE  PATHFINDER  31 

they  drew  nearer  to  the  outskirts  of  the  fort,  and  had  no 
longer  the  cover  of  the  woods. 

The  Oswego,  just  at  that  place,  was  a  deep  dark  stream 
of  no  great  width,  its  still,  gloomy-looking  current  wind 
ing  its  way  among  overhanging  trees,  which,  in  particular 
spots,  almost  shut  out  the  light  of  the  heavens.  Here  and 
there  some  half -fallen  giant  of  the  forest  lay  nearly  across 
its  surface,  rendering  care  necessary  to  avoid  the  limbs; 
and  most  of  the  distance,  the  lower  branches  and  leaves 
of  the  trees  of  smaller  growth  were  laved  by  its  waters. 
The  picture  so  beautifully  described  by  our  own  admirable 
poet,  and  which  we  have  placed  at  the  head  of  this  chap 
ter,  was  here  realized;  the  earth  fattened  by  the  decayed 
vegetation  of  centuries,  and  black  with  loam,  the  stream 
that  filled  the  banks  nearly  to  overflowing,  and  the  "fresh 
and  boundless  wood, "  being  all  as  visible  to  the  eye  as 
the  pen  of  Bryant  has  elsewhere  vividly  presented  them 
to  the  imagination.  In  short,  the  entire  scene  was  one  of 
a  rich  and  benevolent  nature,  before  it  had  been  subjected 
to  the  uses  and  desires  of  man;  luxuriant,  wild,  full  of 
promise,  and  not  without  the  charm  of  the  picturesque, 
even  in  its  rudest  state.  It  will  be  remembered  that  this 
was  in  the  year  175-,  or  long  before  even  speculation  had 
brought  any  portion  of  western  New  York  within  the 
bounds  of  civilization.  At  that  distant  day  there  were 
two  great  channels  of  military  communication  between 
the  inhabited  portion  of  the  colony  of  New  York  and  the 
frontiers  which  lay  adjacent  to  the  Canadas— that  by 
Lakes  Champlain  and  George,  and  that  by  means  of  the 
Mohawk,  Wood  Creek,  the  Oneida,  and  the  rivers  we  have 
been  describing.  Along  both  these  lines  of  communica 
tion  military  posts  had  been  established,  though  there 
existed  a  blank  space  of  a  hundred  miles  between  the  last 
fort  at  the  head  of  the  Mohawk  and  the  outlet  of  the 
Oswego,  which  embraced  most  of  the  distance  that  Cap 
and  Mabel  had  journeyed  under  the  protection  of  Arrow 
head. 

"I  sometimes  wish  for  peace  again,"  said  the  Path 
finder,  "when  one  can  range  the  forest  without  searching 
for  any  other  enemy  than  the  beasts  and  fishes.  Ah's 
me!  many  is  the  day  that  the  Sarpent,  there,  and  I  have 


32  THE  PATHFINDER 

passed  happily  among  the  streams,  living  on  venison, 
salmon,  and  trout,  without  thought  of  a  Mingo  or  a  scalp! 
I  sometimes  wish  that  them  blessed  days  might  come 
back,  for  it  is  not  my  real  gift  to  slay  my  own  kind. 
I'm  sartain  the  sergeant's  daughter  don't  think  me  a 
wretch  that  takes  pleasure  in  preying  on  human  natur'?" 

As  this  remark,  a  sort  of  half  interrogatory,  was  made, 
Pathfinder  looked  behind  him;  and,  though  the  most 
partial  friend  could  scarcely  term  his  sunburnt  and  hard 
features  handsome,  even  Mabel  thought  his  smile  attrac 
tive,  by  its  simple  ingenuousness  and  the  uprightness  that 
beamed  in  every  lineament  of  his  honest  countenance. 

V"I  do  not  think  my  father  would  have  sent  one  like 
those  you  mention  to  see  his  daughter  through  the  wilder 
ness, "  the  young  woman  answered,  returning  the  smile  as 
frankly  as  it  was  given,  but  much  more  sweetly. 

"That  he  wouldn't;  the  sergeant  is  a  man  of  feeling, 
and  many  is  the  march  and  the  fight  that  we  have  had — 
stood  shoulder  to  shoulder  in,  as  he  would  call  it — though 
I  always  keep  my  limbs  free  when  near  a  Frencher  or  a 
Mingo." 

"You  are,  then,  the  young  friend  of  whom  my  father 
has  spoken  so  often  in  his  letters?" 

"His  young  friend — the  sergeant  has  the  advantage  of 
me  by  thirty  years;  yes,  he  is  thirty  years  my  senior,  and 
as  many  my  better. ' ' 

"Not  in  the  eyes  of  the  daughter,  perhaps,  friend  Path 
finder,  ' '  put  in  Cap,  whose  spirits  began  to  revive  when  he 
found  the  water  once  more  flowing  around  him.  "The 
thirty  years  that  you  mention  are  not  often  thought  to  be 
an  advantage  in  the  eyes  of  girls  of  nineteen." 

Mabel  colored;  and,  in  turning  aside  her  face  to  avoid 
the  looks  of  those  in  the  bow  of  the  canoe,  she  encoun 
tered  the  admiring  gaze  of  the  young  man  in  the  stern. 
As  a  last  resource,  her  spirited  but  soft  blue  eyes  sought 
refuge  in  the  water.  Just  at  this  moment  a  dull,  heavy 
sound  swept  up  the  avenue  formed  by  the  trees,  borne 
along  by  a  light  air  that  hardly  produced  a  ripple  on  the 
water. 

"That  sounds  pleasantly,"  said  Cap,  pricking  up  his 
ears  like  a  dog  that  hears  a  distant  baying;  "it  is  the  surf 
on  the  shores  of  your  lake,  I  suppose?" 


THE  PATHFINDER  33 

"Not  so — not  so,"  answered  the  Pathfinder;  "it  is 
merely  this  river  tumbling  over  some  rocks  half  a  mile 
below  us." 

"Is  there  a  fall  in  the  stream?"  demanded  Mabel,  a 
still  brighter  flush  glowing  in  her  face. 

"The  devil !  Master  Pathfinder,  or  you,  Mr.  Eau-douce' ' 
(for  so  Cap  began  to  style  Jasper),  "had  you  not  better 
give  the  canoe  a  sheer,  and  get  nearer  to  the  shore?  These 
waterfalls  have  generally  rapids  above  them,  and  one 
might  as  well  get  into  the  maelstrom  at  once  as  to  run 
into  their  suction." 

"Trust  to  us,  friend  Cap,"  answered  Pathfinder;  "we 
are  but  fresh-water  sailors,  it  is  true,  and  I  cannot  boast 
of  being  much  even  of  that;  but  we  understand  rifts  and 
rapids  and  cataracts;  and  in  going  down  these  we  shall 
do  our  endeavors  not  to  disgrace  our  edication. " 

"In  going  down!"  exclaimed  Cap.  "The  devil,  man! 
you  do  not  dream  of  going  down  a  waterfall  in  this  egg 
shell  of  bark!" 

"Sartain;  the  path  lies  over  the  falls,  and  it  is  much 
easier  to  shoot  them  than  to  unload  the  canoe  and  to  carry 
that  and  all  it  contains  around  a  portage  of  a  mile  by 
hand." 

Mabel  turned  her  pallid  countenance  towards  the  young 
man  in  the  stern  of  the  canoe;  for,  just  at  that  moment, 
a  fresh  roar  of  the  fall  was  borne  to  her  ears  by  a  new 
current  of  the  air,  and  it  really  sounded  terrific,  now  that 
the  cause  was  understood. 

"We  thought  that,  by  landing  the  females  and  the  two 
Indians,"  Jasper  quietly  observed,  "we  three  white  men, 
all  of  whom  are  used  to  the  water,  might  carry  the  canoe 
over  in  safety,  for  we  often  shoot  these  falls. 

"And  we  counted  on  you,  friend  mariner,  as  a  main 
stay,  ' '  said  Pathfinder, winking  to  Jasper  over  his  shoulder; 
"for  you  are  accustomed  to  see  waves  tumbling  about;  and 
without  some  one  to  steady  the  cargo,  all  the  finery  of  the 
sergeant's  daughter  might  be  washed  into  the  river  and 
be  lost." 

Cap  was  puzzled.  The  idea  of  going  over  a  waterfall 
was,  perhaps,  more  serious  in  his  eyes  than  it  would  have 
been  in  those  of  one  totally  ignorant  of  all  that  pertained 
3 


34  THE  PATHFINDER 

to  boats ;  for  he  understood  the  power  of  the  element,  and 
the  total  feebleness  of  man  when  exposed  to  its  fury.  Still 
his  pride  revolted  at  the  thought  of  deserting  the  boat, 
while  others  not  only  steadily,  but  cooly,  proposed  to  con 
tinue  in  it.  Notwithstanding  the  latter  feeling,  and  his 
innate  as  well  as  acquired  steadiness  in  danger,  he  would 
probably  have  deserted  his  post,  had  not  the  images  of 
Indians  tearing  scalps  from  the  human  head  taken  so 
strong  hold  of  his  fancy  as  to  induce  him  to  imagine  the 
canoe  a  sort  of  sanctuary. 

"What  is  to  be  done  with  Magnet?"  he  demanded, 
affection  for  his  niece  raising  another  qualm  in  his  con 
science.  "We  cannot  allow  Magnet  to  land  if  there  are 
enemy's  Indians  near?" 

"Nay,  no  Mingo  will  be  near  the  portage;  for  that  is 
a  spot  too  public  for  their  deviltries, "  answered  the  Path 
finder  confidently.  '  'Natur'  is  natur' ,  and  it  is  an  Indian's 
natur'  to  be  found  where  he  is  least  expected.  No  fear 
of  him  on  a  beaten  path;  for  he  wishes  to  come  upon  you 
when  unprepared  to  meet  him,  and  the  fiery  villains  make 
it  a  point  to  deceive  you,  one  way  or  another.  Sheer  in, 
Eau-douce,  and  we  will  land  the  sergeant's  daughter  on 
the  end  of  that  log,  where  she  can  reach  the  shore  with  a 
dry  foot." 

The  injunction  was  obeyed,  and  in  a  few  minutes  the 
whole  party  had  left  the  canoe,  with  the  exception  of 
Pathfinder  and  the  two  sailors.  Notwithstanding  his 
professional  pride,  Cap  would  have  gladly  followed;  but 
he  did  not  like  to  exhibit  so  unequivocal  a  weakness  in 
the  presence  of  a  fresh-water  sailor. 

"I  call  all  hands  to  witness,"  said  he,  as  those  who  had 
landed  moved  away,  "that  I  do  not  look  on  this  affair  as 
anything  more  than  canoeing  in  the  woods.  There  is  no 
seamanship  in  tumbling  over  a  waterfall,  which  is  a  feat 
the  greatest  lubber  can  perform  as  well  as  the  oldest 
mariner." 

"Nay,  nay,  you  needn't  despise  the  Oswego  Falls, 
neither,"  put  in  Pathfinder;  "for,  though  they  may  not 
be  Niagara,  nor  the  Genessee,  nor  the  Cahoos,  nor  Glenn's, 
nor  those  on  the  Canada,  they  are  narvous  enough  for 
a  new  beginner.  Let  the  sergeant's  daughter  stand  on 


THE  PATHFINDER  35 

yonder  rock,  and  she  will  see  the  manner  in  which  we  ig 
norant  backwoodsmen  get  over  a  difficulty  that  we  can't 
get  under.  Now,  Eau-douce,  a  steady  hand  and  a  true 
eye,  for  all  rests  on  you,  seeing  that  we  can  count  Master 
Cap  for  no  more  than  a  passenger. ' ' 

The  canoe  was  leaving  the  shore  as  he  concluded,  while 
Mabel  went  hurriedly  and  trembling  to  the  rock  that  had 
been  pointed  out,  talking  to  her  companion  of  the  danger 
her  uncle  so  unnecessarily  ran,  while  her  eyes  were  riveted 
on  the  agile  and  vigorous  form  of  Eau-douce,  as  he  stood 
erect  in  the  stern  of  the  light  boat,  governing  its  move 
ments.  As  soon,  however,  as  she  reached  a  point  where 
she  got  a  view  of  the  fall,  she  gave  an  involuntary  but 
suppressed  scream,  and  covered  her  eyes.  At  the  next 
instant,  the  latter  were  again  free,  and  the  entranced  girl 
stood  immovable  as  a  statue,  a  scarcely  breathing  observer 
of  all  that  passed.  The  two  Indians  seated  themselves 
passively  on  a  log,  hardly  looking  towards  the  stream, 
while  the  wife  of  Arrowhead  came  near  Mabel,  and  ap 
peared  to  watch  the  motions  of  the  canoe  with  some  such 
interest  as  a  child  regards  the  leaps  of  a  tumbler. 

As  soon  as  the  boat  was  in  the  stream,  Pathfinder  sank 
on  his  knees,  continuing  to  use  the  paddle,  though  it  was 
slowly,  and  in  a  manner  not  to  interfere  with  the  efforts 
of  his  companion.  The  latter  still  stood  erect;  and,  as 
he  kept  his  eye  on  some  object  beyond  the  fall,  it  was 
evident  that  he  was  carefully  looking  for  the  spot  proper 
for  their  passage. 

"Farther  west,  boy ;  farther  west, ' '  muttered  Pathfinder; 
"there  where  you  see  the  water  foam.  Bring  the  top  of 
the  dead  oak  in  a  line  with  the  stem  of  the  blasted  hem 
lock." 

Eau-douce  made  no  answer;  for  the  canoe  was  in  the 
center  of  the  stream,  with  its  head  pointed  towards  the 
fall,  and  it  had  already  begun  to  quicken  its  motion  by 
the  increased  force  of  the  current.  At  that  moment  Cap 
would  cheerfully  have  renounced  every  claim  to  glory  that 
could  possibly  be  acquired  by  the  feat,  to  have  been  safe 
again  on  shore.  He  heard  the  roar  of  the  water,  thunder 
ing,  as  it  might  be,  behind  a  screen,  but  becoming  more 
and  more  distinct,  louder  and  louder,  and  before  him  he 


36  THE  PATHFINDER 

saw  its  line  cutting  the  forest  below,  along  which  the 
green  and  angry  element  seemed  stretched  and  shining,  as 
if  the  particles  were  about  to  lose  their  principle  of 
cohesion. 

"Down  with  your  helm,  down  with  your  helm,  man!" 
he  exclaimed,  unable  any  longer  to  suppress  his  anxiety, 
as  the  canoe  glided  towards  the  edge  of  the  fall. 

'  'Ay,  ay,  down  it  is  sure  enough, ' '  answered  Pathfinder, 
looking  behind  him  for  a  single  instant,  with  his  silent, 
joyous  laugh,  "down  we  go,  of  a  sartinty!  Heave  her 
starn  up,  boy;  farther  up  with  her  starn!" 

The  rest  was  like  the  passage  of  the  viewless  wind. 
Eau-douce  gave  the  required  sweep  with  his  paddle,  the 
canoe  glanced  into  the  channel,  and  for  a  few  seconds  it 
seemed  to  Cap  that  he  was  tossing  in  a  caldron.  He  felt 
the  bow  of  the  canoe  tip,  saw  the  raging,  foaming  water 
careering  madly  by  his  side,  was  sensible  that  the  light 
fabric  in  which  he  floated  was  tossed  about  like  an  egg 
shell,  and  then,  not  less  to  his  great  joy  than  to  his  sur 
prise,  he  discovered  that  it  was  gliding  across  the  basin 
of  still  water  below  the  fall,  under  the  steady  impulse  of 
Jasper's  paddle. 

The  Pathfinder  continued  to  laugh;  but  he  arose  from 
his  knees,  and,  searching  for  a  tin  pot  and  a  horn  spoon, 
he  began  deliberately  to  measure  the  water  that  had  been 
taken  in  the  passage. 

"Fourteen  spoonfuls,  Eau-douce;  fourteen  fairly  meas 
ured  spoonfuls.  I  have,  you  must  acknowledge,  known 
you  to  go  down  with  only  ten." 

"Master  Cap  leaned  so  hard  up  stream, ' '  returned  Jasper 
seriously,  "that  I  had  difficulty  in  trimming  the  canoe." 

"It  may  be  so;  no  doubt  it  was  so,  since  you  say  it; 
but  I  have  known  you  go  over  with  only  ten. ' ' 

Cap  now  gave  a  tremendous  hem,  felt  for  his  queue 
as  if  to  ascertain  its  safety,  and  then  looked  back  in  order 
to  examine  the  danger  he  had  gone  through.  His  safety 
is  easily  explained.  Most  of  the  river  fell  perpendicularly 
ten  or  twelve  feet;  but  near  its  center  the  force  of  the 
current  had  so  far  worn  away  the  rock  as  to  permit  the 
water  to  shoot  through  a  narrow  passage,  at  an  angle  of 
about  forty  or  forty-five  degrees.  Down  this  ticklish 


THE  PATHFINDER  37 

descent  the  canoe  had  glanced,  amid  fragments  of  broken 
rock,  whirlpools,  foam,  and  furious  tossings  of  the  ele 
ment,  which  an  uninstructed  eye  would  believe  menaced 
inevitable  destruction  to  an  object  so  fragile.  But  the 
very  lightness  of  the  canoe  had  favored  its  descent;  for, 
borne  on  the  crest  of  the  waves,  and  directed  by  a  steady 
eye  and  an  arm  full  of  muscle,  it  had  passed  like  a  feather 
from  one  pile  of  foam  to  another,  scarcely  permitting  its 
glossy  side  to  be  wetted.  There  were  a  few  rocks  to  be 
avoided,  the  proper  direction  was  to  be  rigidly  observed, 
and  the  fierce  current  did  the  rest.1 

To  say  that  Cap  was  astonished  would  not  be  expressing 
half  his  feelings;  he  felt  awed,  for  the  profound  dread 
of  rocks  which  most  seamen  entertain  came  in  aid  of  his 
admiration  of  the  boldness  of  the  exploit.  Still  he  was 
indisposed  to  express  all  he  felt,  lest  it  might  be  conceding 
too  much  in  favor  of  fresh  water  and  inland  navigation; 
and  no  sooner  had  he  cleared  his  throat  with  the  aforesaid 
hem,  than  he  loosened  his  tongue  in  the  usual  strain  of 
superiority. 

'  'I  do  not  gainsay  your  knowledge  of  the  channel,  Master 
Eau-douce,  and,  after  all,  to  know  the  channel  in  such  a 
place  is  the  main  point.  I  have  had  cockswains  with  me 
who  could  come  down  that  shoot,  too,  if  they  only  knew 
the  channel." 

"It  isn't  enough  to  know  the  channel,"  said  Path 
finder;  "it  needs  narves  and  skill  to  keep  the  canoe 
straight,  and  to  keep  her  clear  of  the  rocks,  too.  There 
isn't  another  boatman  in  all  this  region  that  can  shoot 
the  Oswego,  but  Eau-douce  there,  with  any  sartainty; 
though,  now  and  then,  one  has  blundered  through.  I 
can't  do  it  myself  unless  by  means  of  Providence,  and  it 
needs  Jasper's  hand  and  eye  to  make  sure  of  a  dry  passage. 
Fourteen  spoonfuls,  after  all,  are  no  great  matter,  though 
I  wish  it  had  been  but  ten,  seeing  that  the  sergeant's 
daughter  was  a  looker-on." 

"And  yet  you  conned  the  canoe;  you  told  him  how  to 
head  and  how  to  sheer." 

iLest  the  reader  suppose  we  are  dealing  purely  in  fiction,  the  writer  will  add 
that  he  has  known  a  long-  thirty-two  pounder  carried  over  these  same  falls 
perfect  safety. 


38  THE  PATHFINDER 

"Human  frailty,  master  mariner;  that  was  a  little  of 
white-skin  natur'.  Now,  had  the  Sarpent,  yonder,  been 
in  the  boat,  not  a  word  would  he  have  spoken  or  thought 
would  he  have  given  to  the  public.  An  Indian  knows  how 
to  hold  his  tongue;  but  we  white  folk  fancy  we  are  always 
wiser  than  our  fellows.  I'm  curing  myself  fast  of  the 
weakness,  but  it  needs  time  to  root  up  the  tree  that  has 
been  growing  more  than  thirty  years." 

"I  think  little  of  this  affair,  sir;  nothing  at  all,  to 
speak  my  mind  freely.  It's  a  mere  wash  of  spray  to 
shooting  London  Bridge,  which  is  done  every  day  by  hun 
dreds  of  persons,  and  often  by  the  most  delicate  ladies  in 
the  land.  The  king's  majesty  has  shot  the  bridge  in  his 
royal  person." 

"Well,  I  want  no  delicate  ladies  or  king's  majesties 
(God  bless  'em!)  in  the  canoe,  in  going  over  these  falls; 
for  a  boat's  breadth,  either  way,  may  make  a  drowning 
matter  of  it.  Eau-douce,  we  shall  have  to  carry  the 
sergeant's  brother  over  Niagara  yet,  to  show  him  what 
may  be  done  in  a  frontier. ' ' 

"The  devil!  Master  Pathfinder,  you  must  be  joking 
now!  Surely  it  is  not  possible  for  a  bark  canoe  to  go 
over  that  mighty  cataract?" 

"You  never  were  more  mistaken,  Master  Cap,  in  your 
life.  Nothing  is  easier,  and  many  is  the  canoe  I  have 
seen  go  over  it  with  my  own  eyes;  and  if  we  both  live 
I  hope  to  satisfy  you  that  the  feat  can  be  done.  For 
my  part,  I  think  the  largest  ship  that  ever  sailed  on  the 
ocean  might  be  carried  over,  could  she  once  get  into  the 
rapids." 

Cap  did  not  perceive  the  wink  which  Pathfinder  ex 
changed  with  Eau-douce,  and  he  remained  silent  for  some 
time;  for,  sooth  to  say,  he  had  never  suspected  the  possi 
bility  of  going  down  Niagara,  feasible  as  the  thing  must 
appear  to  every  one  on  a  second  thought,  the  real  difficulty 
existing  in  going  up  it. 

By  this  time  the  party  had  reached  the  place  where 
Jasper  had  left  his  own  canoe,  concealed  in  the  bushes, 
and  they  all  re-embarked;  Cap,  Jasper,  and  his  niece  in 
one  boat,  and  Pathfinder,  Arrowhead,  and  the  wife  of  the 
latter  in  the  other.  The  Mohican  had  already  passed  down 


THE  PATHFINDER  39 

the  banks  of  the  river  by  land,  looking  cautiously  and 
with  the  skill  of  his  people  for  the  signs  of  an  enemy. 

The  cheek  of  Mabel  did  not  recover  all  its  bloom  until 
the  canoe  was  again  in  the  current,  down  which  it  floated 
swiftly,  occasionally  impelled  by  the  paddle  of  Jasper. 
She  witnessed  the  descent  of  the  falls  with  a  degree  of 
terror  which  had  rendered  her  mute;  but  her  fright  had 
not  been  so  great  as  to  prevent  admiration  of  the  steadi 
ness  of  the  youth  who  directed  the  movement  from  blend 
ing  with  the  passing  terror.  In  truth,  one  much  less 
sensitive  might  have  had  her  feel  ings  awakened  by  the  cool 
and  gallant  air  with  which  Eau-douce  had  accomplished 
this  clever  exploit.  He  had  stood  firmly  erect,  notwith 
standing  the  plunge;  and  to  those  on  the  shore  it  was 
evident  that,  by  a  timely  application  of  his  skill  and 
strength,  the  canoe  had  received  a  sheer  which  alone  car 
ried  it  clear  of  a  rock  over  which  the  boiling  water  was 
leaping  in  jets  d'eau — now  leaving  the  brown  stone  visible, 
and  now  covering  it  with  a  limpid  sheet,  as  if  machinery 
controlled  the  play  of  the  element.  The  tongue  cannot 
always  express  what  the  eyes  view;  but  Mabel  saw 
enough,  even  in  that  moment  of  fear,  to  blend  forever 
in  her  mind  the  pictures  presented  by  the  plunging  canoe 
and  the  unmoved  steersman.  She  admitted  that  insidious 
feeling  which  binds  woman  so  strongly  to  man,  by  feeling 
additional  security  in  finding  herself  under  his  care;  and, 
for  the  first  time  since  leaving  Fort  Stanwix,  she  was  en 
tirely  at  her  ease  in  the  frail  bark  in  which  she  traveled. 
As  the  other  canoe  kept  quite  near  her  own,  however,  and 
the  Pathfinder,  by  floating  at  her  side,  was  most  in  view, 
the  conversation  was  principally  maintained  with  that 
person;  Jasper  seldom  speaking  unless  addressed,  and 
constantly  exhibiting  a  weariness  in  the  management  of 
his  own  boat,  which  might  have  been  remarked  by  one 
accustomed  to  his  ordinarily  confident,  careless  manner. 

"We  know  too  well  a  woman's  gifts  to  think  of  carrying 
the  sergeant's  daughter  over  the  falls,"  said  Pathfinder, 
looking  at  Mabel,  while  he  addressed  her  uncle;  "though 
I've  been  acquainted  with  some  of  her  sex  that  would 
think  but  little  of  doing  the  thing." 

"Mabel  is  faint-hearted,   like  her  mother,"  returned 


40  THE  PATHFINDER 

Cap;  "and  you  did  well,  friend,  to  humor  her  weakness. 
You  will  remember  the  child  has  never  been  at  sea." 

"No,  no,  .it  was  easy  to  discover  that;  by  your  own 
fearlessness,  any  one  might  have  seen  how  little  you  cared 
about  the  matter.  I  went  over  once  with  a  raw  hand,  and 
he  jumped  out  of  the  canoe  just  as  it  tipped,  and  you  may 
judge  what  a  time  he  had  of  it." 

"What  became  of  the  poor  fellow?"  asked  Cap,  scarcely 
knowing  how  to  take  the  other's  manner,  which  was  so 
dry,  while  it  was  so  simple,  that  a  less  obtuse  subject 
than  the  old  sailor  might  well  have  suspected  its  sincerity. 
"One  who  has  passed  the  place  knows  how  to  feel  for 
him." 

"He  was  a  poor  fellow,  as  you  say;  and  a  poor  frontier 
man,  too,  though  he  came  out  to  show  his  skill  among  us 
ignoranters.  What  became  of  him?  Why,  he  went  down 
the  falls  topsy-turvey  like,  as  would  have  happened  to  a 
court-house  or  a  fort. ' ' 

"If  it  should  jump  out  of  a  canoe,"  interrupted  Jasper, 
smiling,  though  he  was  evidently  more  disposed  than  his 
friend  to  let  the  passage  of  the  falls  be  forgotten. 

"The  boy  is  right,"  rejoined  Pathfinder,  laughing  in 
Mabel's  face,  the  canoes  being  now  so  near  that  they  al 
most  touched;  "he  is  sartainly  right.  But  you  have  not 
told  us  what  you  think  of  the  leap  we  took?" 

"It  was  perilous  and  bold,"  said  Mabel;  "while  look 
ing  at  it,  I  could  have  wished  that  it  had  not  been  at 
tempted  though,  now  it  is  over,  I  can  admire  its  boldness 
and  the  steadiness  with  which  it  was  made." 

"Now,  do  not  think  that  we  did  this  thing  to  set  our 
selves  off  in  female  eyes.  It  may  be  pleasant  to  the  young 
to  win  each  other's  good  opinions  by  doing  things  which 
may  seem  praiseworthy  and  bold ;  but  neither  Eau-douce 
nor  myself  is  of  that  race.  My  natur'  has  few  turns  in 
it,  and  is  a  straight  natur' ;  nor  would  it  be  likely  to  lead 
me  into  a  vanity  of  this  sort  while  out  on  duty.  As  for 
Jasper,  he  would  sooner  go  over  the  Oswego  Falls,  with 
out  a  looker-on,  than  do  it  before  a  hundred  pair  of  eyes. 
I  know  the  lad  well  from  much  consorting,  and  I  am  sure 
he  is  not  boastful  or  vain-glorious." 

Mabel  rewarded  the  scout  with  a  smile,  which  served 


THE  PATHFINDER  41 

to  keep  the  canoes  together  for  some  time  longer;  for  the 
sight  of  youth  and  beauty  was  so  rare  on  that  remote 
frontier,  that  even  the  rebuked  and  self-mortified  feelings 
of  this  wanderer  of  the  forest  were  sensibly  touched  by 
the  blooming  loveliness  of  the  girl. 

"We  did  it  for  the  best,"  Pathfinder  continued ;  "  'twas 
all  for  the  best.  Had  we  waited  to  carry  the  canoe  across 
the  portage,  time  would  have  been  lost,  and  nothing  is  so 
precious  as  time  when  you  are  mistrustful  of  Mingoes. " 

"But  we  can  have  little  to  fear  now.  The  canoes  move 
swiftly,  and  two  hours,  you  have  said,  will  carry  us  down 
to  the  fort. ' ' 

"It  shall  be  a  cunning  Iroquois  who  hurts  a  hair  of 
your  head,  pretty  one;  for  all  here  are  bound  to  the 
sergeant,  and  most,  I  think,  to  yourself,  to  see  you  safe 
from  harm.  Ha,  Eau-douce!  what  is  that  in  the  river, 
at  the  lower  turn,  yonder,  beneath  the  bushes — I  mean 
standing  on  the  rock?" 

"  'Tis  the  Big  Serpent,  Pathfinder;  he  is  making  signs 
to  us  in  a  way  I  don't  understand." 

"  'Tis  the  Sarpent,  as  sure  as  I'm  a  white  man,  and  he 
wishes  us  to  drop  in  nearer  to  his  shore.  Mischief  is 
brewing,  or  one  of  his  deliberation  and  steadiness  would 
never  take  this  trouble.  Courage,  all!  we  are  men,  and 
must  meet  deviltry  as  becomes  our  color  and  our  callings. 
Ah,  I  never  knew  good  come  of  boasting!  and  here,  just 
as  I  was  vaunting  of  our  safety,  comes  danger  to  give  me 
the  lie." 


CHAPTER  IV 

"Art'  stryving  to  compare 
With  nature,  did  an  arber  greene  dispred. 
Fram'd  of  wanton  yvie  flowing  f ayre, 
Through  which  the  fragrant  eglantines  did  spred.  " 

—SPENSER. 

THE  Oswego,  below  the  falls,  is  a  more  rapid,  unequal 
stream  than  it  is  above  them.  There  are  places  where 
the  river  flows  in  the  quiet  stillness  of  deep  water,  but 
many  shoals  and  rapids  occur ;  and  at  that  distant  day, 
when  everything  was  in  its  natural  state,  some  of  the 
passes  were  not  altogether  without  hazard.  Very  little 
exertion  was  required  on  the  part  of  those  who  managed 
the  canoes,  except  in  those  places  where  the  swiftness  of 
the  current  and  the  presence  of  the  rocks  required  care; 
then,  indeed,  not  only  vigilance,  but  great  coolness,  readi 
ness,  and  strength  of  arm  became  necessary,  in  order  to 
avoid  the  dangers.  Of  all  this  the  Mohican  was  aware, 
and  he  had  judiciously  selected  a  spot  where  the  river 
flowed  tranquilly  to  intercept  the  canoes,  in  order  to  make 
his  communication  without  hazard  to  those  he  wished  to 
speak. 

The  Pathfinder  had  no  sooner  recognized  the  form  of 
his  red  friend,  than,  with  a  strong  sweep  of  his  paddle, 
he  threw  the  head  of  his  own  canoe  towards  the  shore, 
motioning  for  Jasper  to  follow.  In  a  minute  both  boats 
were  silently  drifting  down  the  stream,  within  reach  of 
the  bushes  that  overhung  the  water,  all  observing  a  pro 
found  silence;  some  from  alarm,  and  others  from  habitual 
caution.  As  the  travelers  drew  nearer  the  Indian,  he 
made  a  sign  for  them  to  stop;  and  then  he  and  Pathfinder 
had  a  short  but  earnest  conference. 

"The  chief  is  not  apt  to  see  enemies  in  a  dead  log," 
observed  the  white  man  to  his  red  associate;  "why  does 
he  tell  us  to  stop?" 

"Mingoes  are  in  the  woods." 

42 


THE  PATHFINDER  43 

"That  we  have  believed  these  two  days;  does  the  chief 
know  it?" 

The  Mohican  quietly  held  up  the  head  of  a  pipe  formed 
of  stone. 

"It  lay  on  a  fresh  trail  that  led  towards  the  .garri 
son,"  for  so  it  was  the  usage  of  that  frontier  to  term  a 
military  work,  whether  it  was  occupied  or  not. 

"That  may  be  the  bowl  of  a  pipe  belonging  to  a  soldier. 
I'.Iany  use  the  red-skin  pipes." 

"See,"  said  the  Big  Serpent,  again  holding  the  thing 
he  had  found  up  to  the  view  of  his  friend. 

The  bowl  of  the  pipe  was  of  soapstone,  and  was  carved 
with  great  care  and  with  a  very  respectable  degree  of 
skill;  in  its  center  was  a  small  Latin  cross,  made  with  an 
accuracy  which  permitted  no  doubt  of  its  meaning. 

"That  does  foretell  deviltry  and  wickedness,"  said  the 
Pathfinder,  who  had  all  the  provincial  horror  of  the  holy 
symbol  in  question  which  then  pervaded  the  country,  and 
which  became  so  incorporated  with  its  prejudices,  by 
confounding  men  with  things,  as  to  have  left  its  traces 
strong  enough  on  the  moral  feeling  of  the  community  to 
be  discovered  even  at  the  present  hour;  "no  Indian  who 
had  not  been  parvated  by  the  cunning  priests  of  the 
Canadas  would  dream  of  carving  a  thing  like  that  on 
his  pipe.  I'll  warrant  ye,  the  knave  prays  to  the  image 
every  time  he  wishes  to  sarcumvent  the  innocent,  and 
work  his  fearful  wickedness.  It  looks  fresh,  too,  Chin- 
gachgook?" 

"The  tobacco  was  burning  when  I  found  it." 

"That  is  close  work,  chief.     Where  was  the  trail?" 

The  Mohican  pointed  to  a  spot  not  a  hundred  yards  from 
where  they  stood. 

The  matter  now  began  to  look  very  serious,  and  the 
two  principal  guides  conferred  apart  for  several  minutes, 
when  both  ascended  the  bank,  approached  the  indicated 
spot,  and  examined  the  trail  with  the  utmost  care.  After 
this  investigation  had  lasted  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  the 
white  man  returned  alone,  his  red  friend  having  disap 
peared  in  the  forest. 

The  ordinary  expression  of  the  countenance  of  the 
Pathfinder  was  that  of  simplicity,  integrity,  and  sincerity, 


44  THE  PATHFINDER 

blended  in  an  air  of  self- reliance  which  usually  gave  great 
confidence  to  those  who  found  themselves  under  his  care; 
but  now  a  look  of  concern  cast  a  shade  over  his  honest 
face,  that  struck  the  whole  party. 

"What  cheer,  Master  Pathfinder?"  demanded  Cap,  per 
mitting  a  voice  that  was  usually  deep,  loud,  and  confident 
to  sink  into  the  cautious  tones  that  better  suited  the 
dangers  of  the  wilderness.  "Has  the  enemy  got  between 
us  and  our  port?" 

"Anan?" 

"Have  any  of  these  painted  scaramouches  anchored  off 
the  harbor  towards  which  we  are  running,  with  the  hope 
of  cutting  us  off  in  entering?" 

"It  may  be  all  as  you  say,  friend  Cap,  but  I  am  none 
the  wiser  for  your  words;  and  in  ticklish  times  the  plainer 
a  man  makes  his  English  the  easier  he  is  understood.  I 
know  nothing  of  ports  and  anchors;  but  there  is  a  direful 
Mingo  trail  within  a  hundred  yards  of  this  very  spot,  and 
as  fresh  as  venison  without  salt.  If  one  of  the  fiery  devils 
has  passed,  so  have  a  dozen;  and,  what  is  worse,  they  have 
gone  down  towards  the  garrison,  and  not  a  soul  crosses 
the  clearing  around  it  that  some  of  their  piercing  eyes 
will  not  discover,  when  sartain  bullets  will  follow." 

"Cannot  this  said  fort  deliver  a  broadside,  and  clear 
everything  within  the  sweep  of  its  hawse?" 

"Nay,  the  forts  this-a-way  are  not  like  forts  in  the 
settlements,  and  two  or  three  light  cannon  are  all  they 
have  down  at  the  mouth  of  the  river;  and  then,  broad 
sides  fired  at  a  dozen  outlying  Mingoes,  lying  behind  logs 
and  in  a  forest,  would  be  powder  spent  in  vain.  We  have 
but  one  course,  and  that  is  a  very  nice  one.  We  are 
judgmatically  placed  here,  both  canoes  being  hid  by  the 
high  bank  and  the  bushes,  from  all  eyes,  except  those  of 
any  lurker  directly  opposite.  Here,  then,  we  may  stay 
without  much  present  fear;  but  how  to  get  the  blood 
thirsty  devils  up  the  stream  again?  Ha!  I  have  it,  I 
have  it!  if  it  does  no  good,  it  can  do  no  harm.  Do  you 
see  the  wide-topped  chestnut  here,  Jasper,  at  the  last  turn 
in  the  river — on  our  own  side  of  the  stream,  I  mean?" 

"That  near  the  fallen  pine?" 

"The  very  same.     Take  the  flint  and  tinder-box,  creep 


THE  PATHFINDER  45 

along  the  bank,  and  light  a  fire  at  that  spot;  maybe  the 
smoke  will  draw  them  above  us.  In  the  meanwhile,  we 
will  drop  the  canoes  carefully  down  beyond  the  point  be 
low,  and  find  another  shelter.  Bushes  are  plenty,  and 
covers  are  easily  to  be  had  in  this  region,  as  witness  the 
many  ambushments. " 

"I  will  do  it,  Pathfinder,"  said  Jasper,  springing  to  the 
shore.  "In  ten  minutes  the  fire  shall  be  lighted." 

"And,  Eau-douce,  use  plenty  of  damp  wood  this  time," 
half  whispered  the  other,  laughing  heartily,  in  his  own 
peculiar  manner;  "when  smoke  is  wanted,  water  helps  to 
thicken  it." 

The  young  man  was  soon  off,  making  his  way  rapidly 
towards  the  desired  point.  A  slight  attempt  of  Mabel  to 
object  to  the  risk  was  disregarded,  and  the  party  imme 
diately  prepared  to  change  its  position,  as  it  could  be  seen 
from  the  place  where  Jasper  intended  to  light  his  fire. 
The  movement  did  not  require  haste,  and  it  was  made 
leisurely  and  with  care.  The  canoes  were  got  clear  of  the 
bushes,  then  suffered  to  drop  down  with  the  stream  until 
they  reached  the  spot  where  the  chestnut,  at  the  foot  of 
which  Jasper  was  to  light  the  fire,  was  almost  shut  out 
from  view,  when  they  stopped,  and  every  eye  was  turned 
in  the  direction  of  the  adventurer. 

"There  goes  the  smoke!"  exclaimed  the  Pathfinder,  as 
a  current  of  air  whirled  a  little  column  of  the  vapor  from 
the  land,  allowing  it  to  rise  spirally  above  the  bed  of  the 
river.  "A  good  flint,  a  small  bit  of  steel,  and  plenty  of 
dry  leaves  make  a  quick  fire.  I  hope  Eau-douce  will  have 
the  wit  to  bethink  him  of  the  damp  wood  now  when  it. 
may  serve  us  all  a  good  turn." 

"Too  much  smoke — too  much  cunning,"  said  Arrow 
head  sententiously. 

"That  is  gospel  truth,  Tuscarora,  if  the  Mingoes  didn't 
know  that  they  are  near  soldiers;  but  soldiers  commonly 
think  more  of  their  dinner  at  a  halt  than  of  their  wisdom 
and  danger.  No,  no;  let  the  boy  pile  on  his  logs,  and 
smoke  them  well,  too;  it  will  all  be  laid  to  the  stupidity 
of  some  Scotch  or  Irish  blunderer,  who  is  thinking  more 
of  his  oatmeal  or  his  potatoes  than  of  Indian  sarcumven- 
tions  or  Indian  rifles." 


46  THE  PATHFINDER 

"And  yet  I  should  think,  from  all  we  have  heard  in  the 
towns,  that  the  soldiers  on  this  frontier  are  used  to  the 
artifices  of  their  enemies,"  said  Mabel,  "and  become 
almost  as  wily  as  the  red  men  themselves." 

"Not  they.  Experience  makes  them  but  little  wiser; 
and  they  wheel,  and  platoon,  and  battalion  it  about,  here 
in  the  forest,  just  as  they  did  in  thei.r  parks  at  home,  of 
which  they  are  all  so  fond  of  talking.  One  red-skin  kas 
more  cunning  in  his  natur'  than  a  whole  regiment  from 
the  other  side  of  the  water;  that  is,  what  I  call  cunning 
of  the  woods.  But  there  is  smoke  enough,  of  all  con 
science,  and  we  had  better  drop  into  another  cover.  The 
lad  has  thrown  the  river  on  his  fire,  and  there  is  danger 
that  the  Mingoes  will  believe  a  whole  regiment  is  out." 

While  speaking,  the  Pathfinder  permitted  his  canoe  to 
drift  away  from  the  bush  by  which  it  had  been  retained, 
and  in  a  couple  of  minutes  the  bend  in  the  river  concealed 
the  smoke  and  the  tree.  Fortunately  a  small  indenta 
tion  in  the  shore  presented  itself,  within  a  few  yards  of 
the  point  they  had  just  passed;  and  the  two  canoes  glided 
into  it,  under  the  impulsion  of  the  paddles. 

A  better  spot  could  not  have  been  found  for  the  pur 
pose.  The  bushes  were  thick,  and  overhung  the  water, 
forming  a  complete  canopy  of  leaves.  There  was  a  small 
gravelly  strand  at  the  bottom  of  the  little  bay,  where 
most  of  the  party  landed  to  be  more  at  their  ease,  and  the 
only  position  from  which  they  could  possibly  be  seen  was 
a  point  on  the  river  directly  opposite.  There  was  little 
danger,  however,  of  discovery  from  that  quarter,  as  the 
thicket  there  was  even  denser  than  common,  and  the  land 
beyond  it  was  so  wet  and  marshy  as  to  render  it  difficult 
to  be  trodden. 

"This  is  a  safe  cover,"  said  the  Pathfinder,  after  he 
had  taken  a  scrutinizing  survey  of  his  position;  "but  it 
may  be  necessary  to  make  it  safer.  Master  Cap,  I  ask 
nothing  of  you  but  silence,  and  a  quieting  of  such  gifts 
as  you  may  have  got  at  sea,  while  the  Tuscarora  and  I 
make  provision  for  the  evil  hour." 

The  guide  then  went  a  short  distance  into  the  bushes,  ac 
companied  by  the  Indian,  where  the  two  cut  off  the  larger 
stems  of  several  alders  and  other  bushes,  using  the  utmost 


THE  PATHFINDER  47 

care  not  to  make  a  noise.  The  ends  of  these  little  trees 
were  forced  into  the  mud,  outside  of  the  canoes,  the  depth 
of  the  water  being  very  trifling;  and  in  the  course  of  ten 
minutes  a  very  effectual  screen  was  interposed  between 
them  and  the  principal  point  of  danger.  Much  ingenuity 
and  readiness  were  manifested  in  making  this  simple  ar 
rangement,  in  which  the  two  workmen  were  essentially 
favored  by  the  natural  formation  of  the  bank,  the  inden 
tation  in  the  shore,  the  shallowness  of  the  water,  and  the 
manner  in  which  the  tangled  bushes  dipped  into  the  stream. 
The  Pathfinder  had  the  address  to  look  for  bushes  which 
had  curved  stems,  things  easily  found  in  such  a  place;  and 
by  cutting  them  some  distance  beneath  the  bend,  and 
permitting  the  latter  to  touch  the  water,  the  artificial 
little  thicket  had  not  the  appearance  of  growing  in  the 
stream,  which  might  have  excited  suspicion;  but  one 
passing  it  would  have  thought  that  the  bushes  shot  out 
horizontally  from  the  bank  before  they  inclined  upwards 
towards  the  light.  In  short,  none  but  an  unusually  dis 
trustful  eye  would  have  been  turned  for  an  instant  to 
wards  the  spot  in  quest  of  a  hiding-place. 

"This  is  the  best  cover  I  ever  yet  got  into,"  said  the 
Pathfinder,  with  his  quiet  laugh,  after  having  been  on  the 
outside  to  reconnoiter;  "the  leaves  of  our  new  trees 
fairly  touch  those  of  the  bushes  over  our  heads.  Hist! 
yonder  comes  Eau-douce,  wading,  like  a  sensible  boy,  as  he 
is,  to  leave  his  trail  in  the  water;  and  we  shall  soon  see 
whether  our  cover  is  good  for  anything  or  not." 

Jasper  had  indeed  returned  from  his  duty  above;  and 
missing  the  canoes,  he  at  once  inferred  that  they  had 
dropped  round  the  next  bend  in  the  river,  in  order  to  get 
out  of  sight  of  the  fire.  His  habits  of  caution  immedi 
ately  suggested  the  expediency  of  stepping  into  the  water, 
in  order  that  there  might  exist  no  visible  communication 
between  the  marks  left  on  the  shore  by  the  party  and  the 
place  where  he  believed  them  to  have  taken  refuge  below. 
Should  the  Canadian  Indians  return  on  their  own  trail, 
and  discover  that  made  by  the  Pathfinder  and  the  Serpent 
in  their  ascent  from  and  descent  to  the  river,  the  clue  to 
their  movements  would  cease  at  the  shore,  water  leaving 
no  prints  of  footsteps.  The  young  man  had  therefore 


48  THE  PATHFINDER 

waded,  knee-deep,  as  far  as  the  point,  and  was  now  seen 
making  his  way  slowly  down  the  margin  of  the  stream, 
searching  curiously  for  the  spot  in  which  the  canoes  were 
hid. 

It  was  in  the  power  of  those  behind  the  bushes,  by 
placing  their  eyes  near  the  leaves,  to  find  many  places  to 
look  through,  while  one  at  a  little  distance  lost  this  ad 
vantage.  To  those  who  watched  his  motions  from  behind 
their  cover,  and  they  were  all  in  the  canoes,  it  was  evident 
that  Jasper  was  totally  at  a  loss  to  imagine  where  the 
Pathfinder  had  secreted  himself.  When  fairly  round  the 
curvature  in  the  shore,  and  out  of  sight  of  the  fire  he  had 
lighted  above,  the  young  man  stopped  and  began  examin 
ing  the  bank  deliberately  and  with  great  care.  Occasion 
ally  he  advanced  eight  or  ten  paces,  and  then  halted 
again,  to  renew  the  search.  The  water  being  much  shal 
lower  than  common,  he  stepped  aside,  in  order  to  walk 
with  greater  ease  to  himself,  and  came  so  near  the  arti 
ficial  plantation  that  he  might  have  touched  it  with  his 
hand.  Still  he  detected  nothing,  and  was  actually  passing 
the  spot  when  Pathfinder  made  an  opening  beneath  the 
branches,  and  called  to  him  in  a  low  voice  to  enter. 

"This  is  pretty  well,"  said  the  Pathfinder,  laughing; 
"though  pale  face  eyes  and  red-skin  eyes  are  as  different 
as  human  spy-glasses.  I  would  wager,  with  the  sergeant's 
daughter  here,  a  horn  of  powder  against  a  wampum-belt 
for  her  girdle,  that  her  father's  rijiment  should  march 
by  this  embankment  of  ours  and  never  find  out  the  fraud! 
But  if  the  Mingoes  actually  get  down  into  the  bed  of  the 
river  where  Jasper  passed,  I  should  tremble  for  the  plan 
tation.  It  will  do  for  their  eyes,  even  across  the  stream, 
however,  and  will  not  be  without  its  use." 

"Don't  you  think,  Master  Pathfinder,  that  it  would  be 
wisest,  after  all,"  said  Cap,  "to  get  under  way  at  once, 
and  carry  sail  hard  down  stream,  as  soon  as  we  are  satis 
fied  that  these  rascals  are  fairly  astern  of  us?  We  seamen 
call  a  stern  chase  a  long  chase. ' ' 

"I  wouldn't  move  from  this  spot  until  we  hear  from 
the  Sarpent,  with  the  sergeant's  pretty  daughter  here  in 
our  company,  for  all  the  powder  in  the  magazine  of  the 
fort  below.  Sartain  captivity  or  sartain  death  would 


THE  PATHFINDER  49 

follow.  If  a  tender  fa'n,  such  as  the  maiden  we  have  in 
charge,  could  thread  the  forest  like  old  deer,  it  might, 
indeed,  do  to  quit  the  canoes;  for  by  making  a  circuit  we 
could  reach  the  garrison  before  morning." 

"Then  let  it  be  done,"  said  Mabel,  springing  to  her 
feet  under  the  sudden  impulse  of  awakened  energy.  "I 
am  young,  active,  used  to  exercise,  and  could  easily  out 
walk  my  dear  uncle.  Let  no  one  think  me  a  hindrance. 
I  cannot  bear  that  all  your  lives  should  be  exposed  on  my 
account. ' ' 

"No,  no,  pretty  one;  we  think  you  anything  but  a 
hindrance  or  anything  that  is  unbecoming,  and  would 
willingly  run  twice  this  risk  to  do  you  and  the  honest 
sergeant  a  service.  Do  I  not  speak  your  mind,  Eau- 
douce?" 

"To  do  her  a  service!"  said  Jasper  with  emphasis. 
"Nothing  shall  tempt  me  to  desert  Mabel  Dunham  until 
she  is  safe  in  her  father's  arms." 

"Well  said,  lad;  bravely  and  honestly  said,  too;  and  I 
join  in  it,  heart  and  hand.  No,  no!  you  are  not  the  first 
of  your  sex  I  have  led  through  the  wilderness,  and  never 
but  once  did  any  harm  befall  any  of  them — that  was  a  sad 
day,  certainly;  but  its  like  may  never  come  again."  t 

Mabel  looked  from  one  of  her  protectors  to  the  other, 
and  her  fine  eyes  swam  in  tears.  Frankly  placing  a  hand 
in  that  of  each,  she  answered  them,  though  at  first  her 
voice  was  choked,  "I  have  no  right  to  expose  you  on  my 
account.  My  dear  father  will  thank  you,  I  thank  you, 
God  will  reward  you;  but  let  there  be  no  unnecessary 
risk.  I  can  walk  far,  and  have  often  gone  miles  on  some 
girlish  fancy;  why  not  now  exert  myself  for  my  life? 
nay,  for  your  precious  lives?" 

"She  is  a  true  dove,  Jasper,"  said  the  Pathfinder, 
neither  relinquishing  the  hand  he  held  until  the  girl  her 
self,  in  native  modesty,  saw  fit  to  withdraw  it,  "and 
wonderfully  winning!  We  get  to  be  rough,  and  some 
times  even  hard-hearted,  in  the  woods,  Mabel;  but  the 
sight  of  one  like  you  brings  us  back  again  to  our  young 
feelings,  and  does  us  good  for  the  remainder  of  our  days. 
I  daresay  Jasper  here  will  tell  you  the  same;  for,  like  me 
in  the  forest,  the  lad  sees  but  few  such  as  yourself  on 
4 


50  THE  PATHFINDER 

Ontario,  to  soften  his  heart  and  remind  him  of  love  for 
his  kind.  Speak  out  now,  Jasper,  and  say  if  it  is  not  so?" 

"I  question  if  many  like  Mabel  Dunham  are  to  be  found 
anywhere, ' '  returned  the  young  man  gallantly,  an  honest 
sincerity  glowing  in  his  face  that  spoke  more  eloquently 
than  his  tongue;  "you  need  not  mention  woods  and  lakes 
to  challenge  her  equals,  but  I  would  go  into  the  settle 
ments  and  towns. ' ' 

"We  had  better  leave  the  canoes,"  Mabel  hurriedly 
rejoined;  "for  I  feel  it  no  longer  safe  to  be  here." 

"You  can  never  do  it'  you  can  never  do  it.  It  would 
be  a  march  of  more  than  twenty  miles,  and  that,  too,  of 
tramping  over  brush  and  roots,  and  through  swamps,  in 
the  dark;  the  trail  of  such  a  party  would  be  wide,  and 
we  might  have  to  fight  our  way  into  the  garrison  after 
all.  We  will  wait  for  the  Mohican." 

Such  appearing  to  be  the  decision  of  him  to  whom  all, 
in  their  present  strait,  looked  up  for  counsel,  no  more 
was  said  on  the  subject.  The  whole  party  now  broke  up 
into  groups;  Arrowhead  and  his  wife  sitting  apart  under 
the  bushes,  conversing  in  a  low  tone,  though  the  man 
spoke  sternly,  and  the  woman  answered  with  the  subdued 
mildness  that  marks  the  degraded  condition  of  a  savage's 
wife.  Pathfinder  and  Cap  occupied  one  canoe,  chatting 
of  their  different  adventures  by  sea  and  land;  while  Jasper 
and  Mabel  sat  in  the  other,  making  greater  progress  in 
intimacy  in  a  single  hour  than  might  have  been  effected 
under  other  circumstances  in  a  twelvemonth.  Notwith 
standing  their  situation  as  regards  the  enemy,  the  time 
flew  by  swiftly,  and  the  young  people,  in  particular,  were 
astonished  when  Cap  informed  them  how  long  they  had 
been  thus  occupied. 

"If  one  could  smoke,  Master  Pathfinder,"  observed  the 
old  sailor,  "this  berth  would  be  snug  enough;  for,  to 
give  the  devil  his  due,  you  have  got  the  canoes  hand 
somely  landlocked,  and  into  moorings  that  would  defy  a 
monsoon.  The  only  hardship  is  the  denial  of  the  pipe." 

"The  scent  of  the  tobacco  would  betray  us;  and  where 
is  the  use  of  taking  all  these  precautions  against  the 
Mingoe's  eyes,  if  we  are  to  tell  him  where  the  cover  is  to 
be  found  through  the  nose?  No,  no;  deny  your  appetites; 


THE  PATHFINDER  51 

and  learn  one  virtue  from  a  red-skin,  who  will  pass  a 
week  without  eating  even,  to  get  a  single  scalp.  Did  you 
hear  nothing,  Jasper?" 

"The  Serpent  is  coming." 

"Then  let  us  see  if  Mohican  eyes  are  better  than  them 
of  a  lad  who  follows  the  water." 

The  Mohican  had  indeed  made  his  appearance  in  the 
same  direction  as  that  by  which  Jasper  had  rejoined  his 
friends.  Instead  of  coming  directly  on,  however,  no 
sooner  did  he  pass  the  bend,  where  he  was  concealed  from 
any  who  might  be  higher  up  stream,  than  he  moved  close 
under  the  bank;  and,  using  the  utmost  caution,  got  a 
position  where  he  could  look  back,  with  his  person  suffi 
ciently  concealed  by  the  bushes  to  prevent  its  being  seen 
by  any  in  that  quarter. 

"The  Sarpent  sees  the  knaves!"  whispered  Pathfinder. 
"As  I'm  a  Christian  white  man,  they  have  bit  at  the  bait, 
and  have  ambushed  the  smoke!" 

Here  a  hearty  but  silent  laugh  interrupted  his  words, 
and  nudging  Cap  with  his  elbow,  they  all  continued  to 
watch  the  movements  of  Chingachgook  in  profound  still 
ness.  The  Mohican  remained  stationary  as  the  rock  on 
which  he  stood  full  ten  minutes;  and  then  it  was  apparent 
that  something  of  interest  had  occurred  within  his  view, 
for  he  drew  back  with  a  hurried  manner,  looked  anxiously 
and  keenly  along  the  margin  of  the  stream,  and  moved 
quickly  down  it,  taking  care  to  lose  his  trail  in  the  shal 
low  water.  He  was  evidently  in  a  hurry  and  concerned, 
now  looking  behind  him,  and  then  casting  eager  glances 
towards  every  spot  on  the  shore  where  he  thought  a  canoe 
might  be  concealed. 

"Call  him  in,"  whispered  Jasper,  scarcely  able  to  re 
strain  his  impatience;  "call  him  in,  or  it  will  be  too 
late!  See!  he  is  actually  passing  us. " 

"Not  so,  not  so,  lad;  nothing  presses,  depend  on  it," 
returned  his  companion,  "or  the  Sarpent  would  begin  to 
creep.  The  Lord  help  us  and  teach  us  wisdom!  I  do 
believe  even  Chingachgook,  whose  sight  is  as  faithful  as 
the  hound's  scent,  overlooks  us,  and  will  not  find  out  the 
ambushment  we  have  made ! ' ' 

This  exultation  was  untimely;  for  the  words  were  no 


52  THE  PATHFINDER 

v 

sooner  spoken  than  the  Indian,  who  had  actually  got  sev 
eral  feet  lower  down  the  stream  than  the  artificial  cover, 
.suddenly  stopped ;  fastened  a  keen-riveted  glance  among 
the  transplanted  bushes;  made  a  few  hasty  steps  back 
ward;  and,  bending  his  body  and  carefully  separating  the 
branches,  he  appeared  among  them. 

"The  accursed  Mingoes!"  said  Pathfinder,  as  soon  as 
his  friend  was  near  enough  to  be  addressed  with  prudence. 

"Iroquois,  "returned  the  sententious  Indian. 

"No  matter,  no  matter;  Iroquois,  devil,  Mingo,  Meng- 
wes,  or  furies — all  are  pretty  much  the  same.  I  call  all 
rascals  Mingoes.  Come  hither,  chief,  and  let  us  convarse 
rationally." 

When  their  private  communication  was  over,  Pathfinder 
rejoined  the  rest,  and  made  them  acquainted  with  all  he 
had  learned. 

The  Mohican  had  followed  the  trail  of  their  enemies 
some  distance  towards  the  fort,  until  the  latter  caught  a 
sight  of  the  smoke  of  Jasper's  fire  when  they  instantly 
retraced  their  steps.  It  now  became  necessary  for  Chin- 
gachgook,  who  ran  the  greatest  risk  of  detection,  to  find 
a  cover  where  he  could  secrete  himself  until  the  party 
might  pass.  It  was  perhaps  fortunate  for  him  that  the 
savages  were  so  intent  on  this  recent  discovery,  that  they 
did  not  bestow  the  ordinary  attention  on  the  signs  of  the 
forest.  At  all  events,  they  passed  him  swiftly,  fifteen  in 
number,  treading  lightly  in  each  other's  footsteps;  and 
he  was  enabled  again  to  get  into  their  rear.  After  pro 
ceeding  to  the  place  where  the  footsteps  of  Pathfinder  and 
the  Mohican  had  joined  the  principal  trail,  the  Iroquois 
had  struck  off  to  the  river,  which  they  reached  just  as 
Jasper  had  disappeared  behind  the  bend  below.  The 
smoke  being  now  in  plain  view,  the  savages  plunged  into 
the  woods  and  endeavored  to  approach  the  fire  unseen. 
Chingachgook  profited  by  this  occasion  to  descend  to  the 
water,  and  to  gain  the  bend  in  the  river  also,  which  he 
thought  had  been  effected  undiscovered.  Here  he  paused, 
as  has  been  stated,  until  he  saw  his  enemies  at  the  fire, 
where  their  stay,  however,  was  very  short. 

Of  the  motives  of  the  Iroquois  the  Mohican  could  judge 
only  by  their  acts.  He  thought  they  had  detected  the 


THE  PATHFINDER  53 

artifice  of  the  fire,  and  were  aware  that  it  had  been 
kindled  with  a  view  to  mislead  them;  for,  after  a  hasty 
examination  of  the  spot,  they  had  separated,  some  plung 
ing  again  into  the  woods,  while  six  or  eight  had  followed 
the  footsteps  of  Jasper  along  the  shore,  and  come  down 
the  stream  towards  the  place  where  the  canoes  had  landed. 
What  course  they  might  take  on  reaching  that  spot  was 
only  to  be  conjectured;  for  the  Serpent  had  felt  the 
emergency  to  be  too  pressing  to  delay  looking  for  his 
friends  any  longer.  From  some  indications  that  were  to 
be  gathered  from  their  gestures,  however,  he  thought  it 
probable  that  their  enemies  might  follow  down  in  the 
margin  of  the  stream,  but  could  not  be  certain. 

As  the  Pathfinder  related  these  facts  to  his  companions, 
the  professional  feelings  of  the  two  other  white  men  came 
uppermost,  and  both  naturally  reverted  to  their  habits,  in 
quest  of  the  means  of  escape. 

' '  Let  us  run  out  the  canoes  at  once,  "said  Jasper  eagerly ; 
"the  current  is  strong,  and  by  using  the  paddles  vigorously 
we  shall  soon  be  beyond  the  reach  of  these  scoundrels!" 

"And  this  poor  flower,  that  first  blossomed  in  the  clear 
ings — shall  it  wither  in  the  forest?"  objected  his  friend, 
with  a  poetry  which  he  had  unconsciously  imbibed  by  his 
long  association  with  the  Delawares. 

"We  must  all  die  first,"  answered  the  youth,  a  gener- 
eus  color  mounting  to  his  temples;  "Mabel  and  Arrow 
head's  wife  may  lie  down  in  the  canoes,  while  we  do  our 
duty,  like  men,  on  our  feet." 

"Ay,  you  are  active  at  the  paddle  and  the  oar,  Eau- 
douce,  I  will  allow,  but  an  accursed  Mingo  is  more  active 
at  his  mischief;  the  canoes  are  swift,  but  a  rifle  bullet  is 
swifter." 

"It  is  the  business  of  men,  engaged  as  we  have  been  by 
a  confiding  father,  to  run  this  risk— 

"But  it  is  not  their  business  to  overlook  prudence." 

"Prudence!  a  man  may  carry  his  prudence  so  far  as  to 
forget  his  courage." 

The  group  was  standing  on  the  narrow  strand,  the 
Pathfinder  leaning  on  his  rifle,  the  butt  of  which  rested 
on  the  gravelly  beach,  while  both  his  hands  clasped  the 
barrel  at  the  height  of  his  own  shoulders.  As  Jasper 


54  THE  PATHFINDER 

threw  out  this  severe  and  unmerited  imputation,  the  deep 
red  of  his  comrade's  face  maintained  its  hue  unchanged, 
though  the  young  man  perceived  that  the  fingers  grasped 
the  iron  of  the  gun  with  the  tenacity  of  a  vise.  Here  all 
betrayal  of  emotion  ceased. 

"You  are  young  and  hot-headed,"  returned  Pathfinder, 
with  a  dignity  that  impressed  his  listeners  with  a  keen 
sense  of  his  moral  superiority;  "but  my  life  has  been 
passed  among  dangers  of  this  sort,  and  my  experience 
and  gifts  are  not  to  be  mastered  by  the  impatience  of  a 
boy.  As  for  courage,  Jasper,  I  will  not  send  back  an 
angry  and  unmeaning  word  to  meet  an  angry  and  an  un 
meaning  word;  for  I  know  that  you  are  true  in  your 
station  and  according  to  your  knowledge;  but  take  the 
advice  of  one  who  faced  the  Mingoes  when  you  were  a 
child,  and  know  that  their  cunning  is  easier  sarcumvented 
by  prudence  than  outwitted  by  foolishness." 

"I  ask  your  pardon,  Pathfinder,"  said  the  repentant 
Jasper,  eagerly  grasping  the  hand  that  the  other  per 
mitted  him  to  seize;  "I  ask  your  pardon,  humbly  and 
sincerely.  'Twas  a  foolish,  as  well  as  wicked  thing  to 
hint  of  a  man  whose  heart,  in  a  good  cause,  is  known  to 
be  as  firm  as  the  rocks  on  the  lake  shore. ' ' 

For  the  first  time  the  color  deepened  on  the  cheek  of 
the  Pathfinder,  and  the  solemn  dignity  which  he  had 
assumed,  under  a  purely  natural  impulse,  disappeared  in 
the  expression  of  the  earnest  simplicity  inherent  in  all 
his  feelings.  He  met  the  grasp  of  his  young  friend  with 
a  squeeze  as  cordial  as  if  no  chord  had  jarred  between 
them,  and  a  slight  sternness  that  had  gathered  about  his 
eye  disappeared  in  a  look  of  natural  kindness. 

"  'Tis  well,  Jasper,"  he  answered,  laughing;  "I  bear 
no  ill-will,  nor  shall  any  one  on  my  behalf.  My  natur'  is 
that  of  a  white  man,  and  that  is  to  bear  no  malice.  It 
might  have  been  ticklish  work  to  have  said  half  as  much 
to  the  Sarpent  here,  though  he  is  a  Delaware,  for  color 
will  have  its  way — 

A  touch  on  his  shoulder  caused  the  speaker  to  cease. 
Mabel  was  standing  erect  in  the  canoe,  her  light,  but 
swelling  form  bent  forward  in  an  attitude  of  graceful 
earnestness,  her  finger  on  her  lips,  her  head  averted,  her 


THE  PATHFINDER  55 

spirited  eyes  riveted  on  an  opening  in  the  bushes,  and 
one  arm  extended  with  a  fishing-rod,  the  end  of  which 
had  touched  the  Pathfinder.  The  latter  bowed  his  head 
to  a  level  with  a  look-out  near  which  he  had  intentionally 
kept  himself,  and  then  whispered  to  Jasper: 

"The  accursed  Mingoes!  Stand  to  your  arms,  my  men, 
but  lay  quiet  as  the  corpses  of  dead  trees!" 

Jasper  advanced  rapidly,  but  noiselessly,  to  the  canoe, 
and  with  a  gentle  violence  induced  Mabel  to  place  herself 
in  such  an  attitude  as  concealed  her  entire  body,  though  it 
would  have  probably  exceeded  his  means  to  induce  the  girl 
so  far  to  lower  her  head  that  she  could  not  keep  her  gaze 
fastened  on  their  enemies.  He  then  took  his  own  post 
near  her,  with  his  rifle  cocked  and  poised,  in  readiness  to 
fire.  Arrowhead  and  Chingachgook  crawled  to  the  cover, 
and  lay  in  wait  like  snakes,  with  their  arms  prepared  for 
service,  while  the  wife  of  the  former  bowed  her  head 
between  her  knees,  covered  it  with  her  calico  robe,  and 
remained  passive  and  immovable.  Cap  loosened  both  his 
pistols  in  their  belt,  but  seemed  quite  at  a  loss  what 
course  to  pursue.  The  Pathfinder  did  not  stir.  He  had 
originally  got  a  position  where  he  might  aim  with  deadly 
effect  through  the  leaves,  and  where  he  could  watch  the 
movements  of  his  enemies;  and  he  was  far  too  steady  to 
be  disconcerted  at  a  moment  so  critical. 

It  was  truly  an  alarming  instant.  Just  as  Mabel  touched 
the  shoulder  of  her  guide,  three  of  the  Iroquois  had  ap 
peared  in  the  water,  at  the  bend  of  the  river,  within  a 
hundred  yards  of  the  cover,  and  halted  to  examine  the 
stream  below.  They  were  all  naked  to  the  waist,  armed 
for  an  expedition  against  their  foes,  and  in  their  war 
paint.  It  was  apparent  that  they  were  undecided  as  to 
the  course  they  ought  to  pursue  in  order  to  find  the 
fugitives.  One  pointed  down  the  river,  a  second  up  the 
stream,  and  the  third  towards  the  opposite  bank.  They 
evidently  doubted. 


CHAPTER  V 

"  Death  is  here,  and  death  is  there, 
Death  is  busy  everywhere.  " 

—SHELLEY. 

IT  was  a  breathless  moment.  The  only  clue  the  fugitives 
possessed  to  the  intentions  of  their  pursuers  was  in  their 
gestures  and  the  indications  which  escaped  them  in  the 
fury  of  disappointment.  That  a  party  had  returned 
already,  on  their  own  footsteps,  by  land,  was  pretty 
certain;  and  all  the  benefit  expected  from  the  artifice  of 
the  fire  was  necessarily  lost.  But  that  consideration  be 
came  of  little  moment  just  then;  for  the  party  was 
menaced  with  an  immediate  discovery  by  those  who  had 
kept  on  a  level  with  the  river.  All  the  facts  presented 
themselves  clearly,  and  as  it  might  be  by  intuition,  to  the 
mind  of  Pathfinder,  who  perceived  the  necessity  of  imme 
diate  decision  and  of  being  in  readiness  to  act  in  concert. 
Without  making  any  noiso,  therefore,  he  managed  to  get 
the  two  Indians  and  Jasper  near  him,  when  he  opened  his 
communications  in  a  whisper. 

"We  must  be  ready,  we  must  be  ready,"  he  said. 
"There  are  but  three  of  the  scalping  devils,  and  we  are 
five,  four  of  whom  may  be  set  down  as  manful  warriors 
for  such  a  scrimmage.  Eau-douce,  do  you  take  the  fellow 
that  is  painted  like  death;  Chingachgook,  I  give  you  the 
chief;  and  Arrowhead  must  keep  his  eye  on  the  young 
one.  There  must  be  no  mistake,  for  two  bullets  in  the 
same  body  would  be  sinful  waste,  with  one  like  the 
sergeant's  daughter  in  danger.  I  shall  hold  myself  in 
resarve  against  accident,  lest  a  fourth  reptile  appear,  for 
one  of  your  hands  may  prove  unsteady.  By  no  means  fire 
until  I  give  the  word;  we  must  not  let  the  crack  of  the 
rifle  be  heard  except  in  the  last  resort,  since  all  the  rest 
of  the  miscreants  are  still  within  hearing.  Jasper,  boy, 
in  case  of  any  movement  behind  us  on  the  bank,  I  trust  to 

56 


THE  PATHFINDER  57 

you  to  run  out  the  canoe  with  the  sergeant's  daughter, 
and  to  pull  for  the  garrison,  by  God's  leave." 

The  Pathfinder  had  no  sooner  given  these  directions 
than  the  near  approach  of  their  enemies  rendered  pro 
found  silence  necessary.  The  Iroquois  in  the  river  were 
slowly  descending  the  stream,  keeping  of  necessity  near 
the  bushes  which  overhung  the  water,  while  the  rustling 
of  leaves  and  snapping  of  twigs  soon  gave  fearful  evidence 
that  another  party  was  moving  along  the  bank,  at  an 
equally  graduated  pace,  and  directly  abreast  of  them.  In 
consequence  of  the  distance  between  the  bushes  planted 
by  the  fugitives  and  the  true  shore,  the  two  parties  be 
came  visible  to  each  other  when  opposite  that  precise 
point.  Both  stopped,  and  a  conversation  ensued,  that 
may  be  said  to  have  passed  directly  over  the  heads  of 
those  who  were  concealed.  Indeed,  nothing  sheltered  the 
travelers  but  the  branches  and  leaves  of  plants,  so  pliant 
that  they  yielded  to  every  current  of  air,  and  which  a 
puff  of  wind  a  little  stronger  than  common  would  have 
blown  away.  Fortunately  the  line  of  sight  carried  the 
eyes  of  the  two  parties  of  savages,  whether  they  stood  in 
the  water  or  on  the  land,  above  the  bushes,  and  the  leaves 
appeared  blended  in  a  way  to  excite  no  suspicion.  Per 
haps  the  very  boldness  of  the  expedient  alone  prevented 
an  immediate  exposure.  The  conversation  which  took 
place  was  conducted  earnestly,  but  in  guarded  tones,  as 
if  those  who  spoke  wished  to  defeat  the  intentions  of  any 
listeners.  It  was  in  a  dialect  that  both  the  Indian  war 
riors  beneath,  as  well  as  the  Pathfinder,  understood.  Even 
Jasper  comprehended  a  portion  of  what  was  said. 

"The  trail  is  washed  away  by  the  water!"  said  one 
from  below,  who  stood  so  near  the  artificial  cover  of  the 
fugitives,  that  he  might  have  been  struck  by  the  salmon- 
spear  that  lay  in  the  bottom  of  Jasper's  canoe.  "Water 
has  washed  it  so  clear  that  a  Yengeese  hound  could  not 
follow." 

"The  pale  faces  have  left  the  shore  in  their  canoes," 
answered  the  speaker  on  the  bank. 

"It  cannot  be.  The  rifles  of  our  warriors  below  are 
certain." 

The  Pathfinder  gave  a  significant  glance  at  Jasper,  and 


58  THE  PATHFINDER 

he  clinched  his  teeth  in  order  to  suppress  the  sound  of 
his  own  breathing. 

"Let  my  young  men  look  as  if  their  eyes  were  eagles'," 
said  the  eldest  warrior  among  those  who  were  wading  in 
the  river.  "We  have  been  a  whole  moon  on  the  war 
path,  and  have  found  but  one  scalp.  There  is  a  maiden 
among  them,  and  some  of  our  braves  want  wives." 

Happily  these  words  were  lost  on  Mabel;  but  Jasper's 
frown  became  deeper,  and  his  face  fiercely  flushed. 

The  savages  now  ceased  speaking,  and  the  party  which 
was  concealed  heard  the  slow  and  guarded  movements  of 
those  who  were  on  the  bank,  as  they  pushed  the  bushes 
aside  in  their  wary  progress.  It  was  soon  evident  that 
the  latter  had  passed  the  cover;  but  the  group  in  the 
water  still  remained,  scanning  the  shore  with  eyes  that 
glared  through  their  war-paint  like  coals  of  living  fire. 
After  a  pause  of  two  or  three  minutes,  these  three  began 
also  to  descend  the  stream,  though  it  was  step  by  step, 
as  men  move  who  look  for  an  object  that  has  been  lost. 
In  this  manner  they  passed  the  artificial  screen,  and  Path 
finder  opened  his  mouth  in  that  hearty  but  noiseless  laugh 
that  nature  and  habit  had  contributed  to  render  a  peculi 
arity  of  the  man.  His  triumph,  however,  was  premature; 
for  the  last  of  the  retiring  party,  just  at  this  moment 
casting  a  look  behind  him,  suddenly  stopped ;  and  his  fixed 
attitude  and  steady  gaze  at  once  betrayed  the  appalling 
fact  that  some  neglected  bush  had  awakened  his  suspicions. 

It  was  perhaps  fortunate  for  the  concealed  that  the 
warrior  who  manifested  these  fearful  signs  of  distrust  was 
young,  and  had  still  a  reputation  to  acquire.  He  knew 
the  importance  of  discretion  and  modesty  in  one  of  his 
years,  and  most  of  all  did  he  dread  the  ridicule  and  con 
tempt  that  would  certainly  follow  a  false  alarm.  Without 
recalling  any  of  his  companions,  therefore,  he  turned  on 
his  own  footsteps;  and,  while  the  others  continued  to 
descend  the  river,  he  cautiously  approached  the  bushes, 
on  which  his  looks  were  still  fastened,  as  by  a  charm. 
Some  of  the  leaves  which  were  exposed  to  the  sun  had 
drooped  a  little,  and  this  slight  departure  from  the  usual 
natural  laws  had  caught  the  quick  eyes  of  the  Indian;  for 
so  practised  and  acute  do  the  senses  of  the  savage  become, 


THE  PATHFINDER  59 

more  especially  when  he  is  on  the  war-path,  that  trifles 
apparently  of  the  most  insignificant  sort  often  prove  to 
be  clues  to  lead  him  to  his  object. 

The  trifling  nature  of  the  change  which  had  aroused 
the  suspicion  of  this  youth  was  an  additional  motive  for 
not  acquainting  his  companions  with  his  discovery.  Should 
he  really  detect  anything,  his  glory  would  be  the  greater 
for  being  unshared;  and  should  he  not,  he  might  hope  to 
escape  that  derision  which  the  young  Indian  so  much  dreads. 
Then  there  were  the  dangers  of  an  ambush  and  a  sur 
prise,  to  which  every  warrior  of  the  woods  is  keenly  alive, 
to  render  his  approach  slow  and  cautious.  In  consequence 
of  the  delay  that  proceeded  from  these  combined  causes, 
the  two  parties  had  descended  some  fifty  or  sixty  yards 
before  the  young  savage  was  again  near  enough  to  the 
bushes  of  the  Pathfinder  to  touch  them  with  his  hand. 

Notwithstanding  their  critical  situation,  the  whole  party 
behind  the  cover  had  their  eyes  fastened  on  the  working 
countenance  of  the  young  Iroquois,  who  was  agitated  by 
conflicting  feelings.  First  came  the  eager  hope  of  obtain 
ing  success  where  some  of  the  most  experienced  of  his 
tribe  had  failed,  and  with  it  a  degree  of  glory  that  had 
seldom  fallen  to  the  share  of  one  of  his  years  or  a  brave 
on  his  first  war-path;  then  followed  doubts,  as  the  droop 
ing  leaves  seemed  to  rise  again  and  to  revive  in  the  cur 
rents  of  air;  and  distrust  of  hidden  danger  lent  its  exciting 
feeling  to  keep  the  eloquent  features  in  play.  So  very 
slight,  however,  had  been  the  alteration  produced  by  the 
heat  on  the  bushes  of  which  the  stems  were  in  the  water, 
that  when  the  Iroquois  actually  laid  his  hand  on  the  leaves, 
he  fancied  that  he  had  been  deceived.  As  no  man  ever 
distrusts  strongly  without  using  all  convenient  means 
of  satisfying  his  doubts,  however,  the  young  warrior 
cautiously  pushed  aside  the  branches  and  advanced  a  step 
within  the  hiding-place,  when  the  forms  of  the  concealed 
party  met  his  gaze,  resembling  so  many  breathless  statues. 
The  low  exclamation,  the  slight  start,  and  the  glaring 
eye,  were  hardly  seen  and  heard,  before  the  arm  of  Chin- 
gachgook  was  raised,  and  the  tomahawk  of  the  Delaware 
descended  on  the  shaven  head  of  his  foe.  The  Iroquois 
raised  his  hands  frantically,  bounded  backward,  and  fell 


60  THE  PATHFINDER 

into  the  water,  at  a  spot  where  the  current  swept  the  body 
away,  the  struggling  limbs  still  tossing  and  writhing  in 
the  agony  of  death.  The  Delaware  made  a  vigorous  but 
unsuccessful  attempt  to  seize  an  arm,  with  the  hope  of 
securing  the  scalp;  but  the  bloodstained  waters  whirled 
down  the  current,  carrying  with  them  their  quivering 
burthen. 

All  this  passed  in  less  than  a  minute,  and  the  events 
were  so  sudden  and  unexpected,  that  men  less  accustomed 
than  the  Pathfinder  and  his  associates  to  forest  warfare 
would  have  been  at  a  loss  how  to  act. 

"There  is  not  a  moment  to  lose,"  said  Jasper,  tearing 
aside  the  bushes,  as  he  spoke  earnestly,  but  in  a  suppressed 
voice.  "Do  as  I  do,  Master  Cap,  if  you  would  save  your 
niece;  and  you,  Mabel,  lie  at  your  length  in  the  canoe." 

The  words  were  scarcely  uttered  when,  seizing  the  bow 
of  the  light  boat,  he  dragged  it  along  the  shore,  wading 
himself,  while  Cap  aided  behind,  keeping  so  near  the  bank 
as  to  avoid  being  seen  by  the  savages  below,  and  striving 
to  gain  the  turn  in  the  river  above  him  which  would 
effectually  conceal  the  party  from  the  enemy.  The  Path 
finder's  canoe  lay  nearest  to  the  bank,  and  was  necessarily 
the  last  to  quit  the  shore.  The  Delaware  leaped  on  the 
narrow  strand  and  plunged  into  the  forest,  it  being  his 
assigned  duty  to  watch  the  foe  in  that  quarter,  while 
Arrowhead  motioned  to  his  white  companion  to  seize  the 
bow  of  the  boat  and  to  follow  Jasper.  All  this  was  the 
work  of  an  instant;  but  when  the  Pathfinder  reached  the 
current  that  was  sweeping  round  the  turn,  he  felt  a  sud 
den  change  in  the  weight  he  was  dragging,  and,  looking 
back,  he  found  that  both  the  Tuscarora  and  his  wife  had 
deserted  him.  The  thought  of  treachery  flashed  upon  his 
mind,  but  there  was  no  time  to  pause,  for  the  wailing 
shout  that  arose  from  the  party  below  proclaimed  that  the 
body  of  the  young  Iroquois  had  floated  as  low  as  the  spot 
reached  by  his  friends.  The  report  of  a  rifle  followed; 
and  then  the  guide  saw  that  Jasper,  having  doubled  the 
bend  in  the  river,  was  crossing  the  stream,  standing  erect 
in  the  stern  of  the  canoe,  while  Cap  was  seated  forward, 
both  propelling  the  light  boat  with  vigorous  strokes  of 
the  paddles.  A  glance,  a  thought,  and  an  expedient  fol- 


THE  PATHFINDER  61 

lowed  each  other  quickly  in  one  so  trained  in  the  vicissi 
tudes  of  the  frontier  warfare.  Springing  into  the  stern 
of  his  own  canoe,  he  urged  it  by  a  vigorous  shove  into  the 
current,  and  commenced  crossing  the  stream  himself,  at 
a  point  so  much  lower  than  that  of  his  companions  as  to 
offer  his  own  person  for  a  target  to  the  enemy,  well  know 
ing  that  their  keen  desire  to  secure  a  scalp  would  control 
all  other  feelings. 

"Keep  well  up  the  current,  Jasper,"  shouted  the  gal 
lant  guide,  as  he  swept  the  water  with  long,  steady, 
vigorous  strokes  of  the  paddle;  "keep  well  up  the  cur 
rent,  and  pull  for  the  alder  bushes  opposite.  Presarve 
the  sergeant's  daughter  before  all  things,  and  leave  these 
Mingo  knaves  to  the  Sarpent  and  me." 

Jasper  flourished  his  paddle  as  a  signal  of  understand 
ing,  while  shot  succeeded  shot  in  quick  succession,  all 
now  being  aimed  at  the  solitary  man  in  the  nearest  canoe. 

'  'Ay,  empty  your  rifles  like  simpletons  as  you  are, ' '  said 
the  Pathfinder,  who  had  acquired  a  habit  of  speaking 
when  alone,  from  passing  so  much  of  his  time  in  the 
solitude  of  the  forest;  "empty  your  rifles  with  an  un 
steady  aim,  and  give  me  time  to  put  yard  upon  yard  of 
river  between  us.  I  will  not  revile  you  like  a  Delaware 
or  a  Mohican;  for  my  gifts  are  a  white  man's  gifts,  and 
not  an  Indian's;  and  boasting  in  battle  is  no  part  of  a 
Christian  warrior;  but  I  may  say  here,  all  alone  by  my 
self,  that  you  are  little  better  than  so  many  men  from  the 
town  shooting  at  robins  in  the  orchards.  That  was  well 
meant,"  throwing  back  his  head,  as  a  rifle  bullet  cut  a 
lock  of  hair  from  his  temple;  "but  the  lead  that  misses 
by  an  inch  is  useless  as  the  lead  that  never  quits  the 
barrel.  Bravely  done,  Jasper!  the  sergeant's  sweet  child 
must  be  saved,  even  if  we  go  in  without  our  own  scalps. " 

By  this  time  the  Pathfinder  was  in  the  center  of  the 
river,  and  almost  abreast  of  his  enemies,  while  the  other 
canoe,  impelled  by  the  vigorous  arms  of  Cap  and  Jasper, 
had  nearly  gained  the  opposite  shore  at  the  precise  spot 
that  had  been  pointed  out  to  them.  The  old  mariner  now 
played  his  part  manfully;  for  he  was  on  his  proper  ele 
ment,  loved  his  niece  sincerely,  had  a  proper  regard  for 
his  own  person,  and  was  not  unused  to  fire,  though  his 


62  THE  PATHFINDER 

experience  certainly  lay  in  a  very  different  species  of 
warfare.  A  few  strokes  of  the  paddles  were  given,  and 
the  canoe  shot  into  the  bushes,  Mabel  was  hurried  to  land 
by  Jasper,  and  for  the  present  all  three  of  the  fugitives 
were  safe. 

Not  so  with  the  Pathfinder;  his  hardy  self-devotion 
had  brought  him  into  a  situation  of  unusual  exposure,  the 
hazards  of  which  were  much  increased  by  the  fact  that, 
just  as  he  drifted  nearest  to  the  enemy  the  party  on  the 
shore  rushed  down  the  bank  and  joined  their  friends  who 
still  stood  in  the  water.  The  Oswego  was  about  a  cable's 
length  in  width  at  this  point,  and,  the  canoe  being  in  the 
center,  the  object  was  only  a  hundred  yards  from  the 
rifles  that  were  constantly  discharged  at  it;  or,  at  the 
usual  target  distance  for  that  weapon. 

In  this  extremity  the  steadiness  and  skill  of  the  Path 
finder  did  him  good  service.  He  knew  that  his  safety 
depended  altogether  on  keeping  in  motion;  for  a  station 
ary  object,  at  that  distance,  would  have  been  hit  nearly 
every  shot.  Nor  was  motion  itself  sufficient;  for,  accus 
tomed  to  kill  the  bounding  deer,  his  enemies  probably 
knew  how  to  vary  the  line  of  aim  so  as  to  strike  him, 
should  he  continue  to  move  in  any  one  direction.  He  was 
consequently  compelled  to  change  the  course  of  the  canoe 
— at  one  moment  shooting  down  with  the  current,  with 
the  swiftness  of  an  arrow;  and  at  the  next  checking  its 
progress  in  that  direction,  to  glance  athwart  the  stream. 
Luckily  the  Iroquois  could  not  reload  their  pieces  in  the 
water,  and  the  bushes  that  everywhere  fringed  the  shore 
rendered  it  difficult  to  keep  the  fugitive  in  view  when  on 
the  land.  Aided  by  these  circumstances,  and  having  re 
ceived  the  fire  of  all  his  foes,  the  Pathfinder  was  gaining 
fast  in  distance,  both  downwards  and  across  the  current, 
when  a  new  danger  suddenly,  if  not  unexpectedly,  pre 
sented  itself,  by  the  appearance  of  the  party  that  had  been 
left  in  ambush  below  with  a  view  to  watch  the  river. 

These  were  the  savages  alluded  to  in  the  short  dialogue 
already  related.  They  were  no  less  than  ten  in  number; 
and,  understanding  all  the  advantages  of  their  bloody  oc 
cupation,  they  had  posted  themselves  at  a  spot  where  the 
water  dashed  among  rocks  and  over  shallows,  in  a  way  to 


THE  PATHFINDER  63 

form  a  rapid  which,  in  the  language  of  the  country,  is 
called  a  rift.  The  Pathfinder  saw  that,  if  he  entered  this 
rift,  he  should  be  compelled  to  approach  a  point  where 
the  Iroquois  had  posted  themselves,  for  the  current  was 
irresistible,  and  the  rocks  allowed  no  other  safe  passage, 
while  death  or  captivity  would  be  the  probable  result  of 
the  attempt.  All  his  efforts,  therefore,  were  turned  toward 
reaching  the  western  shore,  the  foe  being  all  on  the  eastern 
side  of  the  river;  but  the  exploit  surpassed  human  power, 
and  to  attempt  to  stem  the  stream  would  at  once  have  so 
far  diminished  the  motion  of  the  canoe  as  to  render  aim 
certain.  In  this  exigency  the  guide  came  to  a  decision 
with  his  usual  cool  promptitude,  making  his  preparations 
accordingly.  Instead  of  endeavoring  to  gain  the  channel, 
he  steered  towards  the  shallowest  part  of  the  stream,  on 
reaching  which  he  seized  his  rifle  and  pack,  leaped  into 
the  water,  and  began  to  wade  from  rock  to  rock,  taking 
the  direction  of  the  western  shore.  The  canoe  whirled 
about  in  the  furious  current,  now  rolling  over  some  slip 
pery  stone,  now  filling,  and  then  emptying  itself,  until  it 
lodged  on  the  shore,  within  a  few  yards  of  the  spot  where 
the  Iroquois  had  posted  themselves. 

In  the  meanwhile  the  Pathfinder  was  far  from  being 
out  of  danger;  for  the  first  minute,  admiration  of  his 
promptitude  and  daring,  which  are  so  high  virtues  in  the 
mind  of  an  Indian,  kept  his  enemies  motionless;  but  the 
desire  of  revenge,  and  the  cravings  for  the  much-prized 
trophy,  soon  overcame  this  transient  feeling,  and  aroused 
them  from  their  stupor.  Rifle  flashed  after  rifle,  and  the 
bullets  whistled  around  the  head  of  the  fugitives,  amid 
the  roar  of  the  waters.  Still  he  proceeded  like  one  who 
bore  a  charmed  life;  for,  while  his  rude  frontier  garments 
were  more  than  once  cut,  his  skin  was  not  razed.  As  the 
Pathfinder,  in  several  instances,  was  compelled  to  wade 
in  water  which  rose  nearly  to  his  arms,  while  he  kept  his 
rifle  and  ammunition  elevated  above  the  raging  current, 
the  toil  soon  fatigued  him,  and  he  was  glad  to  stop  at  a 
large  stone,  or  a  small  rock,  which  rose  so  high  above  the 
river  that  its  upper  surface  was  dry.  On  this  stone  he 
placed  his  powder-horn,  getting  behind  it  himself,  so  as 
to  have  the  advantage  of  a  partial  cover  for  his  body. 


64  THE  PATHFINDER 

The  western  shore  was  only  fifty  feet  distant,  but  the 
quiet,  swift,  dark  current  that  glanced  through  the  in 
terval  sufficiently  showed  that  here  he  would  be  compelled 
to  swim. 

A  short  cessation  in  the  firing  now  took  place  on  the 
part  of  the  Indians,  who  gathered  about  the  canoe,  and, 
having  found  the  paddles,  were  preparing  to  cross  the 
river. 

"Pathfinder,"  called  a  voice  from  among  the  bushes,  at 
the  point  nearest  to  the  person  addressed,  on  the  western 
shore. 

"What  would  you  have,  Jasper?" 

"Be  of  good  heart — friends  are  at  hand,  and  not  a  single 
Mingo  shall  cross  without  suffering  for  his  boldness.  Had 
you  not  better  leave  the  rifle  on  the  rock,  and  swim  to  us 
before  the  rascals  can  get  afloat?" 

"A  true  woodsman  never  quits  his  piece  while  he  has 
any  powder  in  his  horn  or  a  bullet  in  his  pouch.  I  have 
not  drawn  a  trigger  this  day,  Eau-douce,  and  shouldn't 
relish  the  idea  of  parting  with  those  reptiles  without 
causing  them  to  remember  my  name.  A  little  water  will 
not  harm  my  legs;  and  I  see  that  blackguard,  Arrowhead, 
among  the  scamps,  and  wish  to  send  him  the  wages  he 
has  so  faithfully  earned.  You  have  not  brought  the 
sergeant's  daughter  down  here  in  a  range  with  their 
bullets,  I  hope,  Jasper?" 

"She  is  safe  for  the  present  at  least;  though  all  depends 
on  our  keeping  the  river  between  us  and  the  enemy.  They 
must  know  our  weakness  now;  and,  should  they  cross,  no 
doubt  some  of  their  party  will  be  left  on  the  other  side." 

"This  canoeing  touches  your  gifts  rather  than  mine, 
boy,  though  I  will  handle  a  paddle  with  the  best  Mingo 
that  ever  struck  a  salmon.  If  they  cross  below  the  rift, 
why  can't  we  cross  in  the  still  water  above,  and  keep 
playing  at  dodge  and  turn  with  the  wolves?" 

"Because,  as  I  have  said,  they  will  leave  a  party  on 
the  other  shore;  and  then,  Pathfinder,  would  you  expose 
Mabel,  to  the  rifles  of  the  Iroquois?" 

"The  sergeant's  daughter  must  be  saved,"  returned 
the  guide,  with  calm  energy.  "You  are  right,  Jasper; 
she  has  no  gift  to  authorize  her  in  offering  her  sweet  face 


THE  PATHFINDER  65 

and  tender  body  to  a  Mingo  rifle.  What  can  be  done, 
then?  They  must  be  kept  from  crossing  for  an  hour  or 
two,  if  possible,  when  we  must  do  our  best  in  the  dark 
ness.  ' ' 

"I  agree  with  you,  Pathfinder,  if  it  can  be  effected; 
but  are  we  strong  enough  for  such  a  purpose?" 

"The  Lord  is  with  us,  boy,  the  Lord  is  with  us;  and  it 
is  unreasonable  to  suppose  that  one  like  the  sergeant's 
daughter  will  be  altogether  abandoned  by  Providence  in 
such  a  strait.  There  is  not  a  boat  between  the  falls  and 
the  garrison,  except  these  two  canoes,  to  my  sartain 
knowledge;  and  I  think  it  will  go  beyond  red-skin  gifts 
to  cross  in  the  face  of  two  rifles  like  these  of  yourn  and 
mine.  I  will  not  vaunt,  Jasper;  but  it  is  well  known  on 
all  this  frontier  that  Killdeer  seldom  fails." 

"Your  skill  is  admitted  by  all,  far  and  near,  Pathfinder; 
but  a  rifle  takes  time  to  be  loaded;  nor  are  you  on  the 
land,  aided  by  a  good  cover  where  you  can  work  to  the 
advantage  you  are  used  to.  If  you  had  our  canoe,  might 
you  not  pass  to  the  shore  with  a  dry  rifle?" 

"Can  an  eagle  fly,  Jasper?"  returned  the  other,  laugh 
ing  in  his  usual  manner,  and  looking  back  as  he  spoke. 
"But  it  would  be  unwise  to  expose  yourself  on  the  water; 
for  them  miscreants  are  beginning  to  bethink  them  again 
of  powder  and  bullets." 

"It  can  be  done  without  any  such  chances.  Master  Cap 
has  gone  up  to  the  canoe,  and  will  cast  the  branch  of  a 
tree  into  the  river  to  try  the  current,  which  sets  from 
the  point  above  in  the  direction  of  your  rock.  See,  there 
it  comes  already;  if  it  floats  fairly,  you  must  raise  your 
arm,  when  the  canoe  will  follow.  At  all  events,  if  the 
boat  should  pass  you,  the  eddy  below  will  bring  it  up, 
and  I  can  recover  it." 

While  Jasper  was  still  speaking,  the  floating  branch 
came  in  sight;  and,  quickening  its  progress  with  the  in 
creasing  velocity  of  the  current,  it  swept  swiftly  down 
towards  the  Pathfinder,  who  seized  it  as  it  was  passing, 
and  held  it  in  the  air  as  a  sign  of  success.  Cap  under 
stood  the  signal,  and  presently  the  canoe  was  launched 
into  the  stream,  with  a  caution  and  an  intelligence  that 
the  habits  of  the  mariner  had  fitted  him  to  observe.  It 
5 


66  THE  PATHFINDER 

floated  in  the  same  direction  as  the  branch,  and  in  a 
minute  was  arrested  by  the  Pathfinder. 

"This  has  been  done  with  a  frontier  man's  judgment, 
Jasper,"  said  the  guide,  laughing;  "but  you  have  your 
gifts,  which  incline  most  to  the  water,  as  mine  incline  to 
the  woods.  Now  let  them  Mingo  knaves  cock  their  rifles 
and  get  rests,  for  this  is  the  last  chance  they  are  likely  to 
have  at  a  man  without  a  cover." 

"Nay,  shove  the  canoe  towards  the  shore,  quartering 
the  current,  and  throw  yourself  into  it  as  it  goes  off," 
said  Jasper  eagerly.  "There  is  little  use  in  running  any 
risk." 

"I  love  to  stand  up  face  to  face  with  my  enemies  like  a 
man,  while  they  set  me  the  example,"  returned  the  Path 
finder  proudly.  "I  am  not  a  red-skin  born,  and  it  is  more 
a  white  man's  gifts  to  fight  openly  than  to  lie  in  ambush- 
ment. ' ' 

"And  Mabel?" 

"True,  boy,  true;  the  sergeant's  daughter  must  be 
saved;  and,  as  you  say,  foolish  risks  only  become  boys. 
Think  you  that  you  can  catch  the  canoe  where  you  stand?" 

"There  can  be  no  doubt,  if  you  give  a  vigorous 
push." 

Pathfinder  made  the  necessary  effort;  the  light  bark 
shot  across  the  intervening  space,  and  Jasper  seized  it  as 
it  came  to  land.  To  secure  the  canoe,  and  to  take  proper 
positions  in  the  cover,  occupied  the  friends  but  a  moment, 
when  they  shook  hands  cordially,  like  those  who  had  met 
after  a  long  separation. 

"Now,  Jasper,  we  shall  see  if  a  Mingo  of  them  all  dares 
cross  the  Oswego  in  the  teeth  of  Killdeer !  You  are  handier 
with  the  oar  and  the  paddle  and  the  sail  than  with  the 
rifle,  perhaps;  but  you  have  a  stout  heart  and  a  steady 
hand,  and  them  are  things  that  count  in  a  fight." 

"Mabel  will  find  me  between  her  and  her  enemies," 
said  Jasper  calmly. 

"Yes,  yes,  the  sergeant's  daughter  must  be  protected. 
I  like  you,  boy,  on  your  own  account;  but  I  like  you  all 
the  better  that  you  think  of  one  so  feeble  at  a  moment 
when  there  is  need  of  all  your  manhood.  See,  Jasper! 
three  of  the  knaves  are  actually  getting  into  the  canoe! 


THE  PATHFINDER  67 

They  must  believe  we  have  fled,  or  they  would  not  surely 
venture  so  much,  directly  in  the  very  face  of  Killdeer." 

Sure  enough  the  Iroquois  did  appear  bent  on  venturing 
across  the  stream;  for,  as  the  Pathfinder  and  his  friends 
now  kept  their  persons  strictly  concealed,  their  enemies 
began  to  think  that  the  latter  had  taken  to  flight.  Such 
a  course  was  that  which  most  white  men  would  have  fol 
lowed;  but  Mabel  was  under  the  care  of  those  who  were 
much  too  well  skilled  in  forest  warfare  to  neglect  to  defend 
the  only  pass  that,  in  truth,  now  offered  even  a  probable 
chance  for  protection. 

As  the  Pathfinder  had  said,  three  warriors  were  in  the 
canoe,  two  holding  their  rifles  at  a  poise,  as  they  knelt  in 
readiness  to  aim  the  deadly  weapons,  and  the  other  stand 
ing  erect  in  the  stern  to  wield  the  paddle.  In  this  manner 
they  left  the  shore,  having  had  the  precaution  to  haul  the 
canoe,  previously  to  entering  it,  so  far  up  the  stream  as 
to  have  got  into  the  comparatively  still  water  above  the 
rift.  It  was  apparent  at  a  glance  that  the  savage  who 
guided  the  boat  was  skilled  in  the  art;  for  the  long  steady 
sweep  of  his  paddle  sent  the  light  bark  over  the  glassy 
surface  of  the  tranquil  river  as  if  it  were  a  feather  float 
ing  in  air. 

"Shall  I  fire?"  demanded  Jasper  in  a  whisper,  trem 
bling  with  eagerness  to  engage. 

"Not  yet,  boy,  not  yet.  There  are  but  three  of  them, 
and  if  Master  Cap  yonder  knows  how  to  use  the  popguns 
he  carries  in  his  belt,  we  may  even  let  them  land,  and 
then  we  shall  recover  the  canoe." 

"But  Mabel— 

"No  fear  for  the  sergeant's  daughter.  She  is  safe  in 
the  hollow  stump,  you  say,  with  the  opening  judgmati- 
cally  hid  by  the  brambles.  If  what  you  tell  me  of  the 
manner  in  which  you  concealed  the  trail  be  true,  the  sweet 
one  might  lie  there  a  month  and  laugh  at  the  Mingoes." 

"We  are  never  certain.  I  wish  we  had  brought  her 
nearer  to  our  own  cover!" 

"What  for,  Eau-douce?  To  place  her  pretty  little  head 
and  leaping  heart  among  flying  bullets?  No,  no;  she  is 
better  where  she  is,  because  she  is  safer." 

"We    are  never  certain.     We  thought  ourselves  safe 


68  THE  PATHFINDER 

behind  the  bushes,  and  yet  you  saw  that  we  were  dis 
covered." 

"And  the  Mingo  imp  paid  for  his  curiosity,  as  these 
knaves  are  about  to  do. ' ' 

The  Pathfinder  ceased  speaking;  for  at  that  instant  the 
sharp  report  of  a  rifle  was  heard,  when  the  Indian  in  the 
stern  of  the  canoe  leaped  high  into  the  air,  and  fell  into 
the  water,  holding  the  paddle  in  his  hand.  A  small  wreath 
of  smoke  floated  out  from  among  the  bushes  of  the  eastern 
shore,  and  was  soon  absorbed  by  the  atmosphere. 

"That  is  the  Sarpent  hissing!"  exclaimed  the  Path 
finder  exultingly.  "A  bolder  or  a  truer  heart  never  beat 
in  the  breast  of  a  Delaware.  I  am  sorry  that  he  inter 
fered;  but  he  could  not  have  known  our  condition." 

The  canoe  had  no  sooner  lost  its  guide  than  it  floated 
with  the  stream,  and  was  soon  sucked  into  the  rapids  of 
the  rift.  Perfectly  helpless,  the  two  remaining  savages 
gazed  wildly  about  them,  but  could  offer  no  resistance  to 
the  power  of  the  element.  It  was  perhaps  fortunate  for 
Chingachgook  that  the  attention  of  most  of  the  Iroquois 
was  intently  given  to  the  situation  of  those  in  the  boat, 
else  would  his  escape  have  been  to  the  last  degree  difficult, 
if  not  totally  impracticable.  But  not  a  foe  moved,  except 
to  conceal  his  person  behind  some  cover;  and  every  eye 
was  riveted  on  the  two  remaining  adventurers.  In  less 
time  than  has  been  necessary  to  record  these  occurrences, 
the  canoe  was  whirling  and  tossing  in  the  rift,  while  both 
the  savages  had  stretched  themselves  in  its  bottom,  as  the 
only  means  of  preserving  the  equilibrium.  This  natural 
expedient  soon  failed  them;  for,  striking  a  rock,  the 
light  craft  rolled  over,  and  the  two  warriors  were  thrown 
into  the  river.  The  water  is  seldom  deep  on  a  rift,  except 
in  particular  places  where  it  may  have  worn  channels; 
and  there  was  little  to  be  apprehended  from  drowning, 
though  their  arms  were  lost;  and  the  two  savages  were 
fain  to  make  the  best  of  their  way  to  the  friendly  shore, 
swimming  and  wading  as  circumstances  required.  The 
canoe  itself  lodged  on  a  rock  in  the  center  of  the  stream, 
where  for  the  moment  it  became  useless  to  both  parties. 

"Now  is  our  time,  Pathfinder,"  cried  Jasper,  as  the 
two  Iroquois  exposed  most  of  their  persons  while  wading 


THE  PATHFINDER  69 

in  the  shallowest  part  of  the  rapids;  "the  fellow  up 
stream  is  mine,  and  you  can  take  the  lower." 

So  excited  had  the  young  man  become  by  all  the  inci 
dents  of  the  stirring  scene,  that  the  bullet  sped  from  his 
rifle  as  he  spoke,  but  uselessly,  as  it  would  seem,  for  both 
the  fugitives  tossed  their  arms  in  disdain.  The  Pathfinder 
did  not  fire. 

"No,  no,  Eau-douce, "  he  answered;  "I  do  not  seek 
blood  without  a  cause;  and  my  bullet  is  well  leathered 
and  carefully  driven  down,  for  the  time  of  need.  I  love  no 
Mingo,  as  is  just,  seeing  how  much  I  have  consorted  with 
the  Delawares,  who  are  their  mortal  and  natural  enemies; 
but  I  never  pull  trigger  on  one  of  the  miscreants  unless 
it  be  plain  that  his  death  will  lead  to  some  good  end.  The 
deer  never  leaped  that  fell  by  my  hand  wantonly.  By 
living  much  alone  with  God  in  the  wilderness  a  man  gets 
to  feel  the  justice  of  such  opinions.  One  life  is  sufficient 
for  our  present  wants;  and  there  may  yet  be  occasion  to 
use  Killdeer  in  behalf  of  the  Sarpent,  who  has  done  an 
untimorsome  thing  to  let  them  rampant  devils  so  plainly 
know  that  he  is  in  their  neighborhood.  As  I'm  a  wicked 
sinner,  there  is  one  of  them  prowling  along  the  bank  this 
very  moment,  like  one  of  the  boys  of  the  garrison  skulk 
ing  behind  a  fallen  tree  to  get  a  shot  at  a  squirrel!" 

As  the  Pathfinder  pointed  with  his  finger  while  speak 
ing,  the  quick  eye  of  Jasper  soon  caught  the  object  to 
wards  which  it  was  directed.  One  of  the  young  warriors 
of  the  enemy,  burning  with  a  desire  to  distinguish  him 
self,  had  stolen  from  his  party  towards  the  cover  in  which 
Chingachgook  had  concealed  himself;  and  as  the  latter 
was  deceived  by  the  apparent  apathy  of  his  foes,  as  well 
as  engaged  in  some  further  preparations  of  his  own,  he 
had  evidently  obtained  a  position  where  he  got  a  sight  of 
the  Delaware.  This  circumstance  was  apparent  by  the 
arrangements  the  Iroquois  was  making  to  fire,  for  Chin 
gachgook  himself  was  not  visible  from  the  western  side 
of  the  river.  The  rift  was  at  a  bend  in  the  Oswego,  and 
the  sweep  of  the  eastern  shore  formed  a  curve  so  wide  that 
Chingachgook  was  quite  near  to  his  enemies  in  a  straight 
direction,  though  separated  by  several  hundred  feet  on 
the  land,  owing  to  which  fact  air  lines  brought  both  par- 


70  THE  PATHFINDER 

ties  nearly  equidistant  from  the  Pathfinder  and  Jasper.  The 
general  width  of  the  river  being  a  little  less  than  two 
hundred  yards,  such  necessarily  was  about  the  distance 
between  his  two  observers  and  the  skulking  Iroquois. 

"The  Sarpent  must  be  thereabouts, "  observed  Path 
finder,  who  never  turned  his  eye  for  an  instant  from  the 
young  warrior;  "and  yet  he  must  be  strangely  off  his 
guard  to  allow  a  Mingo  devil  to  get  his  stand  so  near,  with 
manifest  signs  of  bloodshed  in  his  heart." 

"See!"  interrupted  Jasper,  "there  is  the  body  of  the 
Indian  the  Delaware  shot!  It  has  drifted  on  a  rock,  and 
the  current  has  forced  the  head  and  face  above  the  water. ' ' 

"Quite  likely,  boy,  quite  likely.  Human  natur'  is  little 
better  than  a  log  of  driftwood  when  the  life  that  was 
breathed  into  its  nostrils  has  departed.  That  Iroquois  will 
never  harm  any  one  more;  but  yonder  skulking  savage  is 
bent  on  taking  the  scalp  of  my  best  and  most  tried  friend. ' ' 

The  Pathfinder  suddenly  interrupted  himself  by  raising 
his  rifle,  a  weapon  of  unusual  length,  with  admirable  pre 
cision,  and  firing  the  instant  it  had  got  its  level.  The 
Iroquois  on  the  opposite  shore  was  in  the  act  of  aiming 
when  the  fatal  messenger  from  Killdeer  arrived.  His  rifle 
was  discharged,  it  is  true,  but  it  was  with  the  muzzle  in 
the  air,  while  the  man  himself  plunged  into  the  bushes, 
quite  evidently  hurt,  if  not  slain. 

"The  skulking  reptyle  brought  it  on  himself, ' '  muttered 
Pathfinder  sternly,  as,  dropping  the  butt  of  his  rifle,  he 
carefully  commenced  reloading  it.  "Chingachgook  and  I 
have  consorted  together  si  nee  we  were  boys,  and  havefi't 
in  company  on  the  Horican,  the  Mohawk,  the  Ontario,  and 
all  the  other  bloody  passes  between  the  country  of  the 
Frenchers  and  our  own;  and  did  the  foolish  knave  believe 
that  I  would  stand  by  and  see  my  best  friend  cut  off  in  an 
ambushment?" 

"We  have  served  the  Sarpent  as  good  a  turn  as  he  served 
us.  Those  rascals  are  troubled,  Pathfinder,  and  are  fall 
ing  back  into  their  covers,  since  they  find  we  can  reach 
them  across  the  river." 

"The  shot  is  no  great  matter,  Jasper,  no  great  matter. 
Ask  any  of  the  60th,  and  they  can  tell  you  what  Killdeer 
can  do,  and  has  done,  and  that,  too,  when  the  bullets 


THE  PATHFINDER  71 

were  flying  about  our  heads  like  hailstones.  No,  no!  this 
is  no  great  matter,  and  the  unthoughtful  vagabond  drew 
it  down  on  himself." 

"Is  that  a  dog,  or  a  deer,  swimming  towards  this 
shore?" 

Pathfinder  started,  for  sure  enough  an  object  was  cross 
ing  the  stream,  above  the  rift,  towards  which,  however, 
it  was  gradually  setting  by  the  force  of  the  current.  A 
second  look  satisfied  both  the  observers  that  it  was  a  man, 
and  an  Indian,  though  so  concealed  as  at  first  to  render  it 
doubtful.  Some  stratagem  was  apprehended,  and  the  closest 
attention  was  given  to  the  movements  of  the  stranger. 

"He  is  pushing  something  before  him  as  he  swims,  and 
his  head  resembles  a  drifting  bush,"  said  Jasper. 

"  'Tis  Indian  deviltry,  boy;  but  Christian  honesty  shall 
circumvent  their  arts." 

As  the  man  slowly  approached,  the  observers  began  to 
doubt  the  accuracy  of  their  first  impressions,  and  it  was 
only  when  two-thirds  of  the  stream  were  passed  that  the 
truth  was  really  known. 

"The  Big  Sarpent,  as  I  live!"  exclaimed  Pathfinder, 
looking  at  his  companion,  and  laughing  until  the  tears 
came  into  his  eyes  with  pure  delight  at  the  success  of  the 
artifice.  "He  has  bushes  to  his  head,  so  as  to  hide  it, 
put  the  horn  on  top,  lashed  the  rifle  to  that  bit  of  log  he 
is  pushing  before  him,  and  has  come  over  to  join  his 
friends.  Ah's  me!  The  times  and  times  that  he  and  I 
have  cut  such  pranks,  right  in  the  teeth  of  Mingoes  raging 
for  our  blood,  in  the  great  thoroughfare  round  and  about 
Ty!" 

"It  may  not  be  the  Serpent  after  all,  Pathfinder;  I  can 
see  no  feature  that  I  remember." 

"Feature!  Who  looks  for  features  in  an  Indian?  No, 
no,  boy ;  '  tis  the  paint  that  speaks,  and  none  but  a  Delaware 
would  wear  that  paint.  Them  are  his  colors,  Jasper  just 
as  your  craft  on  the  lake  wears  St.  George's  Cross  and  the 
Frenchers  set  their  tablecloths  to  fluttering  in  the  wind 
with  all  the  stains  of  fish-bones  and  venison  steaks  upon 
them.  Now  you  see  the  eye  lad  and  it  is  the  eye  of  a 
chief.  But  Eau-douce  fierce  as  it  is  in  battle  and  glassy 
as  it  looks  from  among  the  leaves" — here  the  Pathfinder 


72  THE  PATHFINDER 

laid  his  fingers  lightly  but  impressively  on  his  compan 
ion's  arm — "I  have  seen  it  shed  tears  like  rain.  There  is 
a  soul  and  a  heart  under  that  red  skin,  rely  on  it;  although 
they  are  a  soul  and  a  heart  with  gifts  different  from  our 
own." 

"No  one  who  is  acquainted  with  the  chief  ever  doubted 
that." 

"I  know  it,"  returned  the  other  proudly,  "for  I  have 
consorted  with  him  in  sorrow  and  in  joy;  in  one  I  have 
found  him  a  man  however  stricken;  in  the  other  a  chief 
who  knows  that  the  women  of  his  tribe  are  the  most  seemly 
in  light  merriment.  But  hist!  It  is  too  much  like  the 
people  of  the  settlements  to  pour  soft  speeches  into  an 
other's  ear;  and  the  Sarpent  has  keen  senses.  He  knows 
I  love  him  and  that  I  speak  well  of  him  behind  his  back; 
but  a  Delaware  has  modesty  in  his  inmost  natur'  though 
he  will  brag  like  a  sinner  when  tied  to  a  stake. ' ' 

The  Serpent  now  reached  the  shore  directly  in  the  front 
of  his  two  comrades  with  whose  precise  position  he  must 
have  been  acquainted  before  leaving  the  eastern  side  of 
the  river  and  rising  from  the  water  he  shook  himself  like 
a  dog  and  made  the  usual  exclamation,  "Hugh!" 


CHAPTER  VI 

"  These,  as  they  change,  Almighty  Father,  these, 
Are  but  the  varied  God." 

—THOMSON. 

As  the  chief  landed  he  was  met  by  the  Pathfinder,  who 
addressed  him  in  the  language  of  the  warrior's  people; 
"Was  it  well  done,  Chingachgook, "  said  he  reproachfully, 
"to  ambush  a  dozen  Mingoes  alone?  Killdeer  seldom  fails 
me,  it  is  true;  but  the  Oswego  makes  a  distant  mark,  and 
that  miscreant  showed  little  more  than  his  head  and  shoul 
ders  above  the  bushes,  and  an  unpractised  hand  and  eye 
might  have  failed.  You  should  have  thought  of  this,  chief 
— you  should  have  thought  of  this!" 

"The  Great  Serpent  is  a  Mohican  warrior — he  sees  only 
his  enemies  when  he  is  on  the  war-path,  and  his  fathers 
have  struck  the  Mingoes  from  behind,  since  the  waters 
began  to  run." 

"I  know  your  gifts,  I  know  your  gifts,  and  respect 
them,  too.  No  man  shall  hear  me  complain  that  a  red-skin 
obsarved  red-skin  natur'.  But  prudence  as  much  becomes 
a  warrior  as  valor;  and  had  not  the  Iroquois  devils  been 
looking  .after  their  friends  who  were  in  the  water,  a  hot 
trail  they  would  have  made  of  yourn. " 

"What  is  the  Delaware  about  to  do?"  exclaimed  Jasper 
who  observed  at  that  moment  that  the  chief  had  suddenly 
left  the  Pathfinder  and  advanced  to  the  water's  edge, 
apparently  with  an  intention  of  again  entering  the  river. 
"He  will  not  be  so  mad  as  to  return  to  the  other  shore 
for  any  trifle  he  may  have  forgotten?" 

"Not  he,  not  he;  he  is  as  prudent  as  he  is  brave,  in  the 
main,  though  so  forgetful  of  himself  in  the  late  ambush- 
ment.  Hark'e,  Jasper,"  leaving  the  other  a  little  aside, 
just  as  they  heard  the  Indian's  plunge  into  the  water — 
"hark'e,  lad;  Chingachgook  is  not  a  Christian  white  man, 
like  ourselves,  but  a  Mohican  chief,  who  has  his  gifts  and 

73 


74  THE  PATHFINDER 

traditions  to  tell  him  what  he  ought  to  do;  and  he  who 
consorts  with  them  that  are  not  strictly  and  altogether  of 
his  own  kind  had  better  leave  natur'  and  use  to  govern 
his  comrades.  A  king's  soldier  will  swear  and  he  will 
drink,  and  it  is  of  little  use  to  try  to  prevent  him;  a 
gentleman  likes  his  delicacies,  and  a  lady  her  feathers, 
and  it  does  not  avail  much  to  struggle  against  either; 
whereas  an  Indian's  natur'  and  gifts  are  much  stronger 
than  these,  and  no  doubt  were  bestowed  by  the  Lord  for 
wise  ends,  though  neither  you  nor  me  can  follow  them  in 
all  their  windings." 

"What  does  this  mean?  See,  the  Delaware  is  swim 
ming  towards  the  body  that  is  lodged  on  the  rock?  Why 
does  he  risk  this?" 

"For  honor  and  glory  and  renown,  as  great  gentlemen 
quit  their  quiet  homes  beyond  seas — where,  as  they  tell 
me,  heart  has  nothing  left  to  wish  for;  that  is,  such 
hearts  as  can  be  satisfied  in  a  clearing — to  come  hither  to 
live  on  game  and  fight  the  Frenchers. " 

"I  understand  you — your  friend  has  gone  to  secure  the 
scalp." 

"'Tis  his  gift,  and  let  him  enjoy  it.  We  are  wrhite 
men,  and  cannot  mangle  a  dead  enemy;  but  it  is  honor 
in  the  eyes  of  a  red-skin  to  do  so.  It  may  seem  singular 
to  you,  Eau-douce,  but  I've  known  white  men  of  great 
name  and  character  manifest  as  remarkable  idees  consarn- 
ing  their  honor,  I  have." 

"A  savage  will  be  a  savage,  Pathfinder,  let  him  keep 
what  company  he  may." 

"It  is  well  for  us  to  say  so,  lad;  but,  as  I  tell  you,  white 
honor  will  not  always  conform  to  reason  or  to  the  will  of 
God.  I  have  passed  days  thinking  of  these  matters,  out 
in  the  silent  woods,  and  I  have  come  to  the  opinion,  boy, 
that,  as  Providence  rules  all  things,  no  gift  is  bestowed 
without  some  wise  and  reasonable  end." 

"The  Serpent  greatly  exposes  himself  to  the  enemy,  in 
order  to  get  his  scalp!  This  may  lose  us  the  day." 

"Not  in  his  mind,  Jasper.  That  one  scalp  has  more 
honor  in  it,  according  to  the  Sarpent's  notions  of  war 
fare,  than  a  field  covered  with  slain,  that  kept  the  hair 
on  their  heads.  Now,  there  was  the  fine  young  captain  of 


THE  PATHFINDER  75 

the  60th  that  threw  away  his  life  in  trying  to  bring  off  a 
three-pounder  from  among  the  Frenchers  in  the  last  scrim 
mage  we  had;  he  thought  he  was  sarving  honor;  and  I 
have  known  a  young  ensign  wrap  himself  up  in  his  colors, 
and  go  to  sleep  in  his  blood,  fancying  that  he  was  lying 
on  something  softer  even  than  buffalo-skins." 

"Yes,  yes;  one  can  understand  the  merit  of  not  hauling 
down  an  ensign." 

"And  these  are  Chingachgook's  colors — he  will  keep 
them  to  show  his  children's  children —  -"  Here  the 
Pathfinder  interrupted  himself,  shook  his  head  in  melan 
choly,  and  slowly  added,  "Ah's  me!  no  shoot  of  the  old 
Mohican  stem  remains!  He  has  no  children  to  delight 
with  his  trophies;  no  tribe  to  honor  by  his  deeds;  he  is  a 
lone  man  in  this  world,  and  yet  he  stands  true  to  his 
training  and  his  gifts!  There  is  something  honest  and 
respectable  in  these,  you  must  allow,  Jasper. ' ' 

Here  a  great  outcry  from  the  Iroquois  was  succeeded  by 
the  quick  reports  of  their  rifles,  and  so  eager  did  the 
enemy  become,  in  the  desire  to  drive  the  Delaware  back 
from  his  victim,  that  a  dozen  rushed  into  the  river,  sev 
eral  of  whom  even  advanced  near  a  hundred  feet  into  the 
foaming  current,  as  if  they  actually  meditated  a  serious 
sortie.  But  Chingachgook  continued  unmoved,  as  he  re 
mained  unhurt  by  the  missiles,  accomplishing  his  task 
with  the  dexterity  of  long  habit.  Flourishing  his  reeking 
trophy,  he  gave  the  war-whoop  in  its  most  frightful  in 
tonations,  and  for  a  minute  the  arches  of  the  silent  woods 
and  the  deep  vista  formed  by  the  course  of  the  river  echoed 
with  cries  so  terrific  that  Mabel  bowed  her  head  in  irre 
pressible  fear,  while  her  uncle  for  a  single  instant  actually 
meditated  flight. 

"This  surpasses  all  I  have  heard  from  the  wretches," 
Jasper  exclaimed,  stopping  his  ears,  equally  in  horror  and 
disgust. 

"  'Tis  their  music,  boy;  their  drum  and  fife;  their 
trumpets  and  clarions.  No  doubt  they  love  these  sounds; 
for  they  stir  up  in  them  fierce  feelings,  and  a  desire  for 
blood,"  returned  the  Pathfinder,  totally  unmoved, 
thought  them  rather  frightful  when  a  mere  youngster; 
but  they  have  become  like  the  whistle  of  the  whip-poor- 


76  THE  PATHFINDER 

will  or  the  song  of  the  cat-bird  in  my  ear  now.  All  the 
screeching  reptyles  that  could  stand  between  the  falls  and 
the  garrison  would  have  no  effect  on  my  narves  at  this 
time  of  day.  I  say  it  not  in  boasting,  Jasper;  for  the 
man  that  lets  in  cowardice  through  the  ears  must  have  but 
a  weak  heart  at  the  best;  sounds  and  outcries  being  more 
intended  to  alarm  women  and  children  than  sueh  as  scout 
the  forest  and  face  the  foe.  I  hope  the  Sarpent  is  now 
satisfied,  for  here  he  comes  with  the  scalp  at  his  belt." 

Jasper  turned  away  his  head  as  the  Delaware  rose  from 
the  water,  in  pure  disgust  at  his  late  errand;  but  the 
Pathfinder  regarded  his  friend  with  the  philosophical  in 
difference  of  one  who  had  made  up  his  mind  to  be  indif 
ferent  to  things  he  deemed  immaterial.  As  the  Delaware 
passed  deeper  into  the  bushes  with  a  view  to  wring  his 
trifling  calico  dress  and  to  prepare  his  rifle  for  service,  he 
gave  one  glance  of  triumph  at  his  companions,  and  then 
all  emotion  connected  with  the  recent  exploit  seemed  to 
cease. 

"Jasper, ' '  resumed  the  guide,  "step  down  to  the  station 
of  Master  Cap,  and  ask  him  to  join  us;  we  have  little  time 
for  a  council,  and  yet  our  plans  must  be  laid  quickly,  for 
it  will  not  be  long  before  them  Llingoes  will  be  plotting 
our  ruin." 

The  young  man  complied;  and  in  a  few  minutes  the 
four  were  assembled  near  the  shore,  completely  concealed 
from  the  view  of  their  enemies,  while  they  kept  a  vigilant 
watch  over  the  proceedings  of  the  latter,  in  order  to  con 
sult  on  their  own  future  movements. 

By  this  time  the  day  had  so  far  advanced  as  to  leave 
but  a  few  minutes  between  the  passing  light  and  an  ob 
scurity  that  promised  to  be  even  deeper  than  common. 
The  sun  had  already  set,  and  the  twilight  of  a  low  latitude 
would  soon  pass  into  the  darkness  of  deep  night.  Most 
of  the  hopes  of  the  party  rested  on  this  favorable  circum 
stance,  though  it  was  not  without  its  dangers  also,  as  the 
very  obscurity  which  would  favor  their  escape  would  be 
as  likely  to  conceal  the  movements  of  their  wily  enemies. 

"The  moment  has  come,  men,"  Pathfinder  commenced, 
"when  our  plans  must  be  coolly  laid,  in  order  that  we  may 
act  together,  and  with  a  right  understanding  of  our  errand 


THE  PATHFINDER  77 

and  gifts.  In  an  hour's  time  these  woods  will  be  as  dark 
as  midnight;  and  if  we  are  ever  to  gain  the  garrison,  it 
must  be  done  under  favor  of  this  advantage.  What  say 
you,  Master  Cap?  for,  though  none  of  the  most  experi 
enced  in  combats  and  retreats  in  the  woods,  your  years 
entitle  you  to  speak  first  in  a  matter  like  this  and  in  a 
council. ' ' 

"Well,  in  my  judgment,  all  we  have  to  do  is  to  go  on 
board  the  canoe  when  it  gets  to  be  so  dark  the  enemy's 
look-outs  can't  see  us,  and  run  for  the  haven,  as  wind  and 
tide  will  allow." 

"That  is  easily  said,  but  not  so  easily  done,"  returned 
the  guide.  "We  shall  be  more  exposed  in  the  river  than 
by  following  the  woods;  and  then  there  is  the  Oswego 
rift  below  us,  and  I  am  far  from  sartain  that  Jasper  him 
self  can  carry  a  boat  safely  through  it  in  the  dark.  What 
say  you,  lad,  as  to  your  own  skill  and  judgment?" 

"I  am  of  Master  Cap's  opinion  about  using  the  canoe. 
Mabel  is  too  tender  to  walk  through  swamps  and  among 
roots  of  trees  in  such  a  night  as  this  promises  to  be,  and 
then  I  always  feel  myself  stouter  of  heart  and  truer  of  eye 
when  afloat  than  when  ashore. ' ' 

"Stout  of  heart  you  always  be,  lad,  and  I  think  tolerably 
true  of  eye  for  one  who  has  lived  so  much  in  broad  sun 
shine  and  so  little  in  the  woods.  Ah's  me!  the  Ontario 
has  no  trees,  or  it  would  be  a  plain  to  delight  a  hunter's 
heart!  As  to  your  opinion,  friends,  there  is  much  for  and 
much  against  it.  For  it,  it  may  be  said  water  leaves  no 
trail— 

"What  do  you  call  the  wake?"  interrupted  the  pertin 
acious  and  dogmatical  Cap. 

"Anan?" 

"Go  on,"  said  Jasper;  "Master  Cap  thinks  he  is  on  the 
ocean — water  leaves  no  trail — 

"It  leaves  none,  Eau-douce,  hereaway,  though  I  do  not 
pretend  to  say  what  it  may  leave  on  the  sea.  Then  a  canoe 
is  both  swift  and  easy  when  it  floats  with  the  current,  and 
the  tender  limbs  of  the  sergeant's  daughter  will  be  fav 
ored  by  its  motion.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  the  river  will 
have  no  cover  but  the  clouds  in  the  heavens;  the  rift  is  a 
ticklish  thing  for  boats  to  venture  into,  even  by  daylight; 


78  THE  PATHFINDER 

and  it  is  six  fairly  measured  miles,  by  water,  from  this 
spot  to  the  garrison.  Then  a  trail  on  land  is  not  easy  to 
be  found  in  the  dark.  I  am  troubled,  Jasper,  to  say  which 
way  we  ought  to  counsel  and  advise." 

"If  the  Serpent  and  myself  could  swim  into  the  river 
and  bring  off  the  other  canoe,"  the  young  sailor  replied, 
"it would  seem  to  me  that  our  safest  course  would  be  the 
water. ' ' 

"If,  indeed!  and  yet  it  might  easily  be  done,  as  soon 
as  it  is  a  little  darker.  Well,  well,  I  am  not  sartain  it 
will  not  be  the  best.  Though,  were  we  only  a  party  of 
men,  it  would  be  like  a  hunt  to  the  lusty  and  brave  to 
play  at  hide-and-seek  with  yonder  miscreants  on  the  other 
shore.  Jasper,"  continued  the  guide,  into  whose  char 
acter  there  entered  no  ingredient  which  belonged  to  vain 
display  or  theatrical  effect,  "will  you  undertake  to  bring 
in  the  canoe?" 

"I  will  undertake  anything  that  will  serve  and  protect 
Mabel,  Pathfinder." 

"That  is  an  upright  feeling,  and  I  suppose  it  is  natur'. 
The  Sarpent,  who  is  nearly  naked  already,  can  help  you; 
and  this  will  be  cutting  off  one  of  the  means  of  them 
devils  to  work  their  harm." 

This  material  point  being  settled,  the  different  mem 
bers  of  the  party  prepared  themselves  to  put  the  project 
in  execution.  The  shades  of  evening  fell  fast  upon  the 
forest;  and  by  the  time  all  was  ready  for  the  attempt,  it 
was  found  impossible  to  discern  objects  on  the  opposite 
shore.  Time  now  pressed;  for  Indian  cunning  could  ad 
vise  so  many  expedients  for  passing  so  narrow  a  stream, 
that  the  Pathfinder  was  getting  impatient  to  quit  the  spot. 
While  Jasper  and  his  companion  entered  the  river,  armed 
with  nothing  but  their  knives  and  the  Delaware's  toma 
hawk,  observing  the  greatest  caution  not  to  betray  their 
movements,  the  guide  brought  Mabel  from  her  place  of 
concealment,  and,  bidding  her  and  Cap  proceed  along  the 
shore  to  the  foot  of  the  rapids,  he  got  into  the  canoe  that 
remained  in  his  possession,  in  order  to  carry  it  to  the 
same  place. 

This  was  easily  effected.  The  canoe  was  laid  against  the 
bank,  and  Mabel  and  her  uncle  entered  it,  taking  their 


THE  PATHFINDER  79 

seats  as  usual ;  while  the  Pathfinder,  erect  in  the  stern, 
held  by  a  bush,  in  order  to  prevent  the  swift  stream  from 
sweeping  them  down  its  current.  Several  minutes  of  in 
tense  and  breathless  expectation  followed,  while  they 
awaited  the  results  of  the  bold  attempt  of  their  comrades. 
It  will  be  understood  that  the  two  adventurers  were 
compelled  to  swim  across  a  deep  and  rapid  channel  before 
they  could  reach  a  part  of  the  rift  that  admitted  of  wad 
ing.  This  portion  of  the  enterprise  was  soon  effected; 
and  Jasper  and  the  Serpent  struck  the  bottom  side  by  side 
at  the  same  instant.  Having  secured  firm  footing,  they 
took  hold  of  each  other's  hands,  and  waded  slowly  and 
with  extreme  caution  in  the  supposed  direction  of  the 
canoe.  But  the  darkness  was  already  so  deep  that  they 
soon  ascertained  they  were  to  be  but  little  aided  by  the 
sense  of  sight,  and  that  their  search  must  be  conducted  on 
that  species  of  instinct  which  enables  the  woodsman  to  find 
his  way  when  the  sun  is  hid,  no  stars  appear,  and  all 
would  seem  chaos  to  one  less  accustomed  to  the  mazes  of 
the  forest.  Under  these  circumstances,  Jasper  submitted 
to  be  guided  by  the  Delaware,  whose  habits  best  fitted  him 
to  take  the  lead.  Still  it  was  no  easy  matter  to  wade 
amid  the  roaring  element  at  that  hour,  and  retain  a  clear 
recollection  of  the  localities.  By  the  time  they  believed 
themselves  to  be  in  the  center  of  the  stream,  the  two 
shores  were  discernible  merely  by  masses  of  obscurity  den 
ser  than  common,  the  outlines  against  the  clouds  being 
barely  distinguishable  by  the  ragged  tops  of  the  trees. 
Once  or  twice  the  wanderers  altered  their  course,  in  con 
sequence  of  unexpectedly  stepping  into  deep  water;  for 
they  knew  that  the  boat  had  lodged  on  the  shallowest  part 
of  the  rift.  In  short,  with  this  fact  for  their  compass, 
Jasper  and  his  companion  wandered  about  in  the  water 
for  nearly  a  quarter  of  an  hour;  and  at  the  end  of  that 
period,  which  began  to  appear  interminable  to  the  young 
man,  they  found  themselves  apparently  no  nearer  the  ob 
ject  of  their  search  than  they  had  been  at  its  commence 
ment.  Just  as  the  Delaware  was  about  to  stop,  in  order 
to  inform  his  associate  that  they  would  do  well  to  return 
to  the  land,  in  order  to  take  a  fresh  departure,  he  saw  the 
form  of  a  man  moving  about  in  the  water,  almost  within 


80  THE  PATHFINDER 

reach  of  his  arm.  Jasper  was  at  his  side,  and  he  at  once 
understood  that  the  Iroquois  were  engaged  on  the  same 
errand  as  he  was  himself. 

"Mingo!"  he  uttered  in  Jasper's  ear.  "The  Serpent 
will  show  his  brother  how  to  be  cunning." 

The  young  sailor  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  figure  at  that 
instant,  and  the  startling  truth  also  flashed  rn  his  mind. 
Understanding  the  necessity  of  trusting  all  to  the  Dela 
ware  chief,  he  kept  back,  while  his  friend  moved  cau 
tiously  in  the  direction  in  which  the  strange  form  had 
vanished.  In  another  moment  it  was  seen  again,  evidently 
moving  towards  themselves.  The  waters  made  such  an 
uproar  that  little  was  to  be  apprehended  from  ordinary 
sounds,  and  the  Indian,  turning  his  head,  hastily  said, 
"Leave  it  to  the  cunning  of  the  Great  Serpent." 

"Hugh!"  exclaimed  the  strange  savage,  adding,  in  the 
language  of  his  people,  "The  canoe  is  found,  but  there 
were  none  to  help  me.  Come,  let  us  raise  it  from  the 
rock." 

"Willingly,"  answered  Chingachgook,  who  understood 
the  dialect.  "Lead;  we  will  follow. " 

The  stranger,  unable  to  distinguish  between  voices  and 
accents  amid  the  raging  of  the  rapid,  led  the  way  in  the 
necessary  direction;  and,  the  two  others  keeping  close  at 
his  heels,  all  three  speedily  reached  the  canoe.  The  Iro 
quois  laid  hold  of  one  end,  Chingachgook  placed  himself 
in  the  center,  and  Jasper  went  to  the  opposite  extremity, 
as  it  was  important  that  the  stranger  should  not  detect 
the  presence  of  a  pale  face,  a  discovery  that  might  be 
made  by  the  parts  of  the  dress  the  young  man  still  wore, 
as  well  as  by  the  general  appearances  of  his  head. 

"Lift,"  said  the  Iroquois  in  the  sententious  manner  of 
his  race;  and  by  a  trifling  effort  the  canoe  was  raised  from 
the  rock,  held  a  moment  in  the  air  to  empty  it,  and  then 
placed  carefully  on  the  water  in  its  proper  position.  All 
three  held  it  firmly,  lest  it  should  escape  from  their  hands 
under  the  pressure  of  the  violent  current,  while  the  Iro 
quois,  who  led,  of  course,  being  at  the  upper  end  of  the 
boat,  took  the  direction  of  the  eastern  shore,  or  towards 
the  spot  where  his  friends  waited  his  return. 

As  the  Delaware  and  Jasper  well  knew  there  must  be 


THE  PATHFINDER  81 

several  more  of  the  Iroquois  on  the  rift,  from  the  circum 
stance  that  their  own  appearance  had  occasioned  no  sur 
prise  in  the  individual  they  had  met,  both  felt  the  neces 
sity  of  extreme  caution.  Men  less  bold  and  determined 
would  have  thought  that  they  were  incurring  too  great  a 
risk  by  thus  venturing  into  the  midst  of  their  enemies; 
but  these  hardy  borderers  were  unacquainted  with  fear, 
were  accustomed  to  hazards,  and  so  well  understood  the 
necessity  of  at  least  preventing  their  foes  from  getting 
the  boat,  that  they  would  have  cheerfully  encountered 
even  greater  risks  to  secure  their  object.  So  all-impor 
tant  to  the  safety  of  Mabel,  indeed,  did  Jasper  deem  the 
possession  or  the  destruction  of  this  canoe,  that  he  had 
drawn  his  knife,  and  stood  ready  to  rip  up  the  bark,  in 
order  to  render  the  boat  temporarily  unserviceable,  should 
anything  occur  to  compel  the  Delaware  and  himself  to 
abandon  their  prize. 

In  the  meantime,  the  Iroquois,  who  led  the  way,  pro 
ceeded  slowly  through  the  water  in  the  direction  of  his 
own  party,  still  grasping  the  canoe,  and  dragging  his  re 
luctant  followers  in  his  train.  Once  Chingachgook  raised 
his  tomahawk,  and  was  about  to  bury  it  in  the  brain  of 
his  confiding  and  unsuspicious  neighbor;  but  the  proba 
bility  that  the  death-cry  or  the  floating  body  might  give 
the  alarm  induced  that  wary  chief  to  change  his  purpose. 
At  the  next  moment  he  regretted  this  indecision,  for  the 
three  who  clung  to  the  canoe  suddenly  found  themselves 
in  the  center  of  a  party  of  no  less  than  four  others  who 
were  in  quest  of  it. 

After  the  usual  brief  characteristic  exclamations  of 
satisfaction,  the  savages  eagerly  laid  hold  of  the  canoe, 
for  all  seemed  impressed  with  the  necessity  of  securing 
this  important  boat,  the  one  side  in  order  to  assail  their 
foes,  and  the  other  to  secure  their  retreat.  The  addition 
to  the  party,  however,  was  so  unlooked-for,  and  so  com 
pletely  gave  the  enemy  the  superiority,  that  for  a  few 
moments  the  ingenuity  and  address  of  even  the  Delawares 
were  at  fault.  The  five  Iroquois,  who  seemed  perfectly 
to  understand  their  errand,  pressed  forward  towards  their 
own  shore,  without  pausing  to  converse;  their  object  being 
in  truth  to  obtain  the  paddles,  which  they  had  previously 
6 


82  THE  PATHFINDER 

secured,  and  to  embark  three  or  four  warriors,  with  all 
their  rifles  and  powder-horns,  the  want  of  which  had  alone 
prevented  their  crossing  the  river  by  swimming  as  soon 
as  it  was  dark. 

In  this  manner,  the  body  of  friends  and  foes  united 
reached  the  margin  of  the  eastern  channel,  where,  as  in 
the  case  of  the  western,  the  river  was  too  deep  to  be 
waded.  Here  a  short  pause  succeeded,  it  being  necessary 
to  determine  the  manner  in  which  the  canoe  was  to  be 
carried  across.  One  of  the  four  who  had  just  reached  the 
boat  was  a  chief:  and  the  habitual  deference  which  the 
American  Indian  pays  to  merit,  experience,  and  station 
kept  the  others  silent  until  this  individual  had  spoken. 

The  halt  greatly  added  to  the  danger  of  discovering  the 
presence  of  Jasper,  in  particular,  who,  however,  had  the 
precaution  to  throw  the  cap  he  wore  into  the  bottom  of 
the  canoe.  Being  without  his  jacket  and  shirt,  the  out 
line  of  his  figure,  in  the  obscurity,  would  now  be  less 
likely  to  attract  observation.  His  position,  too,  at  the 
stern  of  the  canoe  a  little  favored  his  concealment,  the 
Iroquois  naturally  keeping  their  looks  directed  the  other 
way.  Not  so  with  Chingachgook.  This  warrior  was  lit 
erally  in  the  midst  of  his  most  deadly  foes,  and  he  could 
scarcely  move  without  touching  one  of  them.  Yet  he  was 
apparently  unmoved,  though  he  kept  all  his  senses  on  the 
alert,  in  readiness  to  escape,  or  to  strike  a  blow  at  the 
proper  moment.  By  carefully  abstaining  from  looking 
towards  those  behind  him,  he  lessened  the  chances  of  dis 
covery,  and  waited  with  the  indomitable  patience  of  an 
Indian  for  the  instant  when  he  should  be  required  to  act. 

"Let  all  my  young  men  but  two,  one  at  each  end  of  the 
canoe,  cross  and  get  their  arms,"  said  the  Iroquois  chief. 
"Let  the  two  push  over  the  boat." 

The  Indians  quietly  obeyed,  leaving  Jasper  at  the  stern, 
and  the  Iroquois  who  had  found  the  canoe  at  the  bow  of 
the  light  craft,  Chingachgook  burying  himself  so  deep  in 
the  river  as  to  be  passed  by  the  others  without  detection. 

The  splashing  in  the  water,  the  tossing  arms,  and  the 
calls  of  one  to  another,  soon  announced  that  the  four  who 
had  last  joined  the  party  were  already  swimming.  As  soon 
as  this  fact  was  certain,  the  Delaware  arose,  resumed  his 


THE  PATHFINDER  83 

former  station,  and  began  to  think  the  moment  for  action 
was  come. 

One  less  habitually  under  self-restraint  than  this  war 
rior  would  probably  have  now  aimed  his  meditated  blow; 
but  Chingachgook  knew  there  were  more  Iroquois  behind 
him  on  the  rift,  and  he  was  a  warrior  much  too  trained 
and  experienced  to  risk  anything  unnecessarily.  He  suf 
fered  the  Indian  at  the  bow  of  the  canoe  to  push  off  into 
the  deep  water,  and  then  all  three  were  swimming  in  the 
direction  of  the  eastern  shore.  Instead,  however,  of  help 
ing  the  canoe  across  the  swift  current,  no  sooner  did  the 
Delaware  and  Jasper  find  themselves  within  the  influence 
of  its  greatest  force  than  both  began  to  swim  in  a  way  to 
check  their  further  progress  across  the  stream.  Nor  was 
this  done  suddenly,  or  in  the  incautious  manner  in  which 
a  civilized  man  would  have  been  apt  to  attempt  the  arti 
fice,  but  warily,  and  so  gradually  that  the  Iroquois  at  the 
bow  fancied  at  first  he  was  merely  struggling  against  the 
strength  of  the  current.  Of  course,  while  acted  on  by 
these  opposing  efforts,  the  canoe  drifted  down  stream,  and 
in  about  a  minute  it  was  floating  in  still  deeper  water  at 
the  foot  of  the  rift.  Here,  however,  the  Iroquois  was  not 
slow  in  finding  that  something  unusual  retarded  their  ad 
vance,  and,  looking  back,  he  first  learned  that  he  was 
resisted  by  the  efforts  of  his  companions. 

That  second  nature  which  grows  up  through  habit  in 
stantly  told  the  young  Iroquois  that  he  was  alone  with 
enemies.  Dashing  the  water  aside,  he  sprang  at  the  throat 
of  Chingachgook,  and  the  two  Indians,  relinquishing  their 
hold  of  the  canoe,  seized  each  other  like  tigers.  In  the 
midst  of  the  darkness  of  that  gloomy  night,  and  floating  in 
an  element  so  dangerous  to  man  when  engaged  in  deadly 
strife,  they  appeared  to  forget  everything  but  their  fell 
animosity  and  their  mutual  desire  to  conquer. 

Jasper  had  now  complete  command  of  the  canoe,  which 
flew  off  like  a  feather  impelled  by  the  breath  under  the 
violent  reaction  of  the  struggles  of  the  two  combatants. 
The  first  impulse  of  the  youth  was  to  swim  to  the  aid  of  the 
Delaware,  but  the  importance  of  securing  the  boat  presented 
itself  with  tenfold  force,  while  he  listened  to  the  heavy 
breathings  of  the  warriors  as  they  throttled  each  other, 


84  THE  PATHFINDER 

and  he  proceeded  as  fast  as  possible  towards  the  western 
shore.  This  he  soon  reached;  and  after  a  short  search  he 
succeeded  in  discovering  the  remainder  of  the  party  and 
in  procuring  his  clothes.  A  few  words  sufficed  to  explain 
the  situation  in  which  he  had  left  the  Delaware  and  the 
manner  in  which  the  canoe  had  been  obtained. 

When  those  who  had  been  left  behind  had  heard  the  ex 
planations  of  Jasper,  a  profound  stillness  reigned  among 
them,  each  listening  intently  in  the  vain  hope  of  catching 
some  clue  to  the  result  of  the  fearful  struggle  that  had 
just  taken  place,  if  it  were  not  still  going  on  in  the  water. 
Nothing  was  audible  beyond  the  steady  roar  of  the  rush 
ing  river;  it  being  a  part  of  the  policy  of  their  enemies  on 
the  opposite  shore  to  observe  the  most  death-like  stillness. 

"Take  this  paddle,  Jasper,"  said  Pathfinder  calmly, 
though  the  listeners  thought  his  voice  sounded  more  mel 
ancholy  than  usual,  "and  follow  with  your  own  canoe.  It 
is  unsafe  for  us  to  remain  here  longer. " 

"But  the  Serpent?" 

"The  Great  Sarpent  is  in  the  hands  of  his  own  Deity, 
and  will  live  or  die,  according  to  the  intentions  of  Provi 
dence.  We  can  do  him  no  good,  and  may  risk  too  much 
by  remaining  here  in  idleness,  like  women  talking  over 
their  distresses.  This  darkness  is  very  precious." 

A  loud,  long,  piercing  yell  came  from  the  shore,  and 
cut  short  the  words  of  the  guide. 

"What  is  the  meaning  of  that  uproar,  Master  Path 
finder?"  demanded  Cap.  "It  sounds  more  like  the  out 
cries  of  devils  than  anything  that  can  come  from  the 
throats  of  Christians  and  men." 

"Christians  they  are  not,  and  do  not  pretend  to  be,  and 
do  not  wish  to  be;  and  in  calling  them  devils  you  have 
scarcely  misnamed  them.  That  yell  is  one  of  rejoicing, 
and  it  is  as  conquerors  they  have  given  it.  The  body  of 
the  Sarpent,  no  doubt,  dead  or  alive,  is  in  their  power." 

"And  we!"  exclaimed  Jasper,  who  felt  a  pang  of  gen 
erous  regret,  as  the  idea  that  he  might  have  averted  the 
calamity  presented  itself  to  his  mind,  had  he  not  deserted 
his  comrade. 

"We  can  do  the  chief  no  good,  lad,  and  must  quit  this 
spot  as  fast  as  possible." 


THE  PATHFINDER  85 

"Without  one  attempt  to  rescue  him? — without  even 
knowing  whether  he  be  dead  or  living?" 

"Jasper  is  right,"  said  Mabel,  who  could  speak,  though 
her  voice  sounded  huskily  and  smothered;  "I  have  no 
fears,  uncle,  and  will  stay  here  until  we  know  what  has 
become  of  our  friend." 

"This  seems  reasonable,  Pathfinder,"  put  in  Cap. 
"Your  true  seaman  cannot  well  desert  a  messmate;  and  I 
am  glad  to  find  that  motives  so  correct  exist  among  those 
fresh-water  people. ' ' 

"Tut!  tut!"  returned  the  impatient  guide,  forcing  the 
canoe  into  the  stream  as  he  spoke;  "ye  know  nothing  and 
ye  fear  nothing.  If  ye  value  your  lives,  think  of  reaching 
the  garrison,  and  leave  the  Delaware  in  the  hands  of 
Providence.  Ah's  me!  the  deer  that  goes  too  often  to  the 
lick  meets  the  hunter  at  last!" 


u 


CHAPTER  VII 

"And  is  this— Yarrow?— this  the  stream 

Of  which  my  fancy  cherish 'd 
So  faithfully  a  waking  dream  ? 
An  image  that  hath  perish'd? 
Oh,  that  some  minstrel's  harp  were  near, 

To  utter  notes  of  gladness, 
And  chase  this  silence  from  the  air, 
That  fills  my  heart  with  sadness." 

—WORDSWORTH. 

THE  scene  was  not  without  its  sublimity,  and  the  ardent, 
generous-minded  Mabel  felt  her  blood  thrill  in  her  veins 
and  her  cheeks  flush,  as  the  canoe  shot  into  the  strength 
of  the  stream,  to  quit  the  spot.  The  darkness  of  the 
night  had  lessened,  by  the  dispersion  of  the  clouds;  but 
the  overhanging  woods  rendered  the  shore  so  obscure,  that 
the  boats  floated  down  the  current  in  a  belt  of  gloom  that 
effectually  secured  them  from  detection.  Still,  there  was 
necessarily  a  strong  feeling  of  insecurity  in  all  on  board 
them ;  and  even  Jasper,  who  by  this  time  began  to  trem 
ble,  in  behalf  of  the  girl,  at  every  unusual  sound  that 
arose  from  the  forest,  kept  casting  uneasy  glances  around 
him  as  he  drifted  on  in  company.  The  paddle  was  used 
lightly,  and  only  with  exceeding  care;  for  the  slightest 
sound  in  the  breathing  stillness  of  that  hour  and  place 
might  apprise  the  watchful  ears  of  the  Iroquois  of  their 
position. 

All  these  accessories  added  to  the  impressive  grandeur 
of  her  situation,  and  contributed  to  render  the  moment 
much  the  most  exciting  which  had  ever  occurred  in  the 
brief  existence  of  Mabel  Dunham.  Spirited,  accustomed 
to  self-reliance,  and  sustained  by  the  pride  of  considering 
herself  a  soldier's  daughter,  she  could  hardly  be  said  to 
be  under  the  influence  of  fear,  yet  her  heart  often  beat 
quicker  than  common,  her  fine  blue  eye  lighted  with  an 
exhibition  of  a  resolution  that  was  wasted  in  the  darkness, 
and  her  quickened  feelings  came  in  aid  of  the  real  sub- 

86 


THE  PATHFINDER  87 

limity  that  belonged  to  the  scene  and  to  the  incidents  of 
the  night. 

"Mabel!"  said  the  suppressed  voice  of  Jasper,  as  the 
two  canoes  floated  so  near  each  other  that  the  hand  of  the 
young  man  held  them  together;  "you  have  no  dread?  you 
trust  freely  to  our  care  and  willingness  to  protect  you?" 

"I  am  a  soldier's  daughter,  as  you  know,  Jasper  West 
ern,  and  ought  to  be  ashamed  to  confess  fear. ' ' 

"Rely  on  me — on  us  all.  Your  uncle,  Pathfinder,  the 
Delaware,  were  the  poor  fellow  here,  I  myself,  will  risk 
everything  rather  than  harm  should  reach  you." 

"I  believe  you,  Jasper,"  returned  the  girl,  her  hand 
unconsciously  playing  in  the  water.  "I  know  that  my 
uncle  loves  me,  and  will  never  think  of  himself  until  he 
has  first  thought  of  me;  and  I  believe  you  are  all  my 
father's  friends,  and  would  willingly  assist  his  child.  But 
I  am  not  so  feeble  and  weak-minded  as  you  may  think; 
for,  though  only  a  girl  from  the  towns,  and,  like  most  of 
that  class,  a  little  disposed  to  see  danger  where  there  is 
none,  I  promise  you,  Jasper,  no  foolish  fears  of  mine  shall 
stand  in  the  way  of  your  doing  your  duty." 

"The  sergeant's  daughter  is  right,  and  she  is  worthy 
of  being  honest  Thomas  Dunham's  child,"  put  in  the 
Pathfinder.  "Ah's  me,  pretty  one!  many  is  the  time  that 
your  father  and  I  have  scouted  and  marched  together  in 
the  flanks  and  rear  of  the  enemy,  in  nights  darker  than 
this,  and  that,  too,  when  we  did  not  know  but  the  next 
moment  would  lead  us  into  a  bloody  ambushment.  I  was 
at  his  side  when  he  got  the  wound  in  his  shoulder;  and 
the  honest  fellow  will  tell  you,  when  you  meet,  the  man 
ner  in  which  we  contrived  to  cross  the  river  which  lay  in 
our  rear,  in  order  to  save  his  scalp. ' ' 

"He  has  told  me,"  said  Ma"bel  with  more  energy  per 
haps  than  her  situation  rendered  prudent.  "I  have  his 
letters  in  which  he  has  mentioned  all  that,  and  I  thank 
you  from  the  bottom  of  my  heart  for  the  service.  God 
will  remember  it,  Pathfinder;  and  there  is  no  grati 
tude  that  you  can  ask  of  the  daughter  which  she  will  not 
cheerfully  repay  for  her  father's  life." 

"Ay,  that  is  the  way  with  all  your  gentle  and  pure- 
hearted  creatures.  I  have  seen  some  of  you  before,  and 


88  THE  PATHFINDER 

have  heard  of  others.  The  sergeant  himself  has  talked 
to  me  of  his  own  young  days,  and  of  your  mother,  and  of 
the  manner  in  which  he  courted  her,  and  of  all  the  cross 
ings  and  disappointments,  until  he  succeeded  at  last." 

"My  mother  did  not  live  long  to  repay  him  for  what  he 
did  to  win  her,"  said  Mabel,  with  a  trembling  lip. 

"So  he  tells  me.  The  honest  sergeant  has  kept  nothing 
back;  for,  being  so  many  years  my  senior,  he  has  looked 
on  me,  in  our  many  scoutings  together,  as  a  sort  of  son." 

"Perhaps,  Pathfinder"  observed  Jasper,  with  a  huski- 
ness  in  his  voice  that  defeated  the  attempt  at  pleasantry, 
"he  would  be  glad  to  have  you  for  one  in  reality." 

>  "And  if  he  did,  Eau-douce,  where  would  be  the  sin  of 
it?  He  knows  what  I  am  on  a  trail  or  a  scout,  and  he 
has  seen  me  often  face  to  face  with  the  Frenchers.  I 
have  sometimes  thought,  lad,  that  we  all  ought  to  seek 
for  wives;  for  the  man  that  lives  altogether  in  the  wroods, 
and  in  company  with  his  enemies  or  his  prey,  gets  to  lose 
some  of  the  feeling  of  kind  in  the  end.  It  is  not  easy  to 
dwell  always  in  the  presence  of  God  and  not  feel  the  power 
of  His  goodness.  I  have  attended  church-sarvice  in  the 
garrisons,  and  tried  hard,  as  becomes  a  true  soldier,  to 
join  in  the  prayers;  for,  though  no  enlisted  sarvant  of 
the  king,  I  fight  his  battles  and  sarve  his  cause,  and  so  I 
have  endeavored  to  worship  garrison-fashion,  but  never 
could  raise  within  me  the  solemn  feelings  and  true  affec 
tion  that  I  feel  when  alone  with  God  in  the  forest.  There 
I  seem  to  stand  face  to  face  with  my  Master;  all  around 
me  is  fresh  and  beautiful,  as  it  came  from  His  hand;  and 
there  is  no  nicety  or  doctrine  to  chill  the  feelings.  No 
no;  the  woods  are  the  true  temple  after  all,  for  there  the 
thoughts  are  free  to  mount  higher  even  than  the  clouds." 

"You  speak  the  truth,  Master  Pathfinder,"  said  Cap, 
"and  a  truth  that  all  who  live  much  in  solitude  know. 
What,  for  instance,  is  the  reason  that  seafaring  men  in 
general  are  so  religious  and  conscientious  in  all  they  do, 
but  the  fact  that  they  are  so  often  alone  with  Providence, 
and  have  so  little  to  do  with  the  wickedness  of  the  land. 
Many  and  many  is  the  time  that  I  have  stood  my  watch, 
under  the  equator  perhaps,  or  in  the  Southern  Ocean, 
when  the  nights  are  lighted  up  with  the  fires  of  heaven; 


THE  PATHFINDER  89 

and  that  is  the  time,  I  can  tell  you,  my  hearties,  to  bring 
a  man  to  his  bearings  in  the  way  of  his  sins.  I  have  rat 
tled  down  mine  again  and  again  under  such  circumstances, 
until  the  shrouds  and  lanyards  of  conscience  have  fairly 
creaked  with  the  strain.  I  agree  with  you,  Master  Path 
finder,  therefore,  in  saying,  if  you  want  a  truly  religious 
man,  go  to  sea,  or  go  into  the  woods." 

"Uncle,  I  thought  seamen  had  little  credit  generally 
for  their  respect  for  religion?" 

"All   d d  slander,   girl;    for  all    the  essentials  of 

Christianity  the  seaman  beats  the  landsman  hand-over 
hand." 

"I  will  not  answer  for  all  this,  Master  Cap,"  returned 
Pathfinder;  "but  I  dare  say  some  of  it  may  be  true.  I 
want  no  thunder  and  lightning  to  remind  me  of  my  God, 
nor  am  I  as  apt  to  bethink  on  most  of  all  His  goodness  in 
trouble  and  tribulations  as  on  a  calm,  solemn,  quiet  day 
in  a  forest,  when  His  voice  is  heard  in  the  creaking  of  a 
dead  branch  or  in  the  song  of  a  bird,  as  much  in  my  ears 
at  least  as  it  is  ever  heard  in  uproar  and  gales.  How  is 
it  with  you,  Eau-douce?  you  face  the  tempests  as  well  as 
Master  Cap,  and  ought  to  know  something  of  the  feelings 
of  storms. ' ' 

"I  fear  that  I  am  too  young  and  too  inexperienced  to 
be  able  to  say  much  on  such  a  subject, ' '  modestly  answered 
Jasper. 

"But  you  have  your  feelings!"  said  Mabel  quickly. 
"You  cannot — no  one  can  live  among  such  scenes  without 
feeling  how  much  they  ought  to  trust  in  God!" 

"I  shall  not  belie  my  training  so  much  as  to  say  I  do 
not  sometimes  think  of  these  things,  but  I  fear  it  is  not 
so  often  or  so  much  as  I  ought. ' ' 

"Fresh  water,"  resumed  Cap  pithily;  "you  are  not  to 
expect  too  much  of  the  young  man,  Mabel.  I  think  they 
call  you  sometimes  by  a  name  which  would  insinuate  all 
this:  Eau-de-vie,  is  it  not?" 

"Eau-douce,"  quietly  replied  Jasper,  who  from  sailing 
on  the  lake  had  acquired  a  knowledge  of  French,  as  well 
as  of  several  of  the  Indian  dialects.  "It  is  a  name  the 
Iroquois  have  given  me  to  distinguish  me  from  some  of 
my  companions  who  once  sailed  upon  the  sea,  and  are 


90  THE  PATHFINDER 

fond  of  filling  the  ears  of  the  natives  with  stories  of  their 
great  salt-water  lakes." 

"And  why  shouldn't  they?  I  daresay  they  do  the  sav 
ages  no  harm.  Ay,  ay,  Eau-douce;  that  must  mean  the 
white  brandy,  which  may  well  enough  be  called  the  deuce, 
for  deuced  stuff  it  is!" 

"The  signification  of  Eau-douce  is  sweet-water,  and  it 
is  the  manner  in  which  the  French  express  fresh-water," 
rejoined  Jasper,  a  little  nettled. 

"And  how  the  devil  do  they  make  water  out  of  Eau-in- 
deuce,  when  it  means  brandy  in  Eau-de-vie?  Besides, 
among  seamen,  Eau  always  means  brandy;  and  Eau-de- 
vie,  brandy  of  a  high  proof.  I  think  nothing  of  your 
ignorance,  young  man;  for  it  is  natural  to  your  situation, 
and  cannot  be  helped.  If  you  will  return  with  me,  and 
make  a  v'y'ge  or  two  on  the  Atlantic,  it  will  serve  you  a 
good  turn  the  remainder  oc  your  days;  and  Mabel  there, 
and  all  the  other  young  women  near  the  coast,  will  think 
all  the  better  of  you  should  you  live  to  be  as  old  as  one  of 
the  trees  in  this  forest." 

"Nay,  nay,"  interrupted  the  single-hearted  and  gen 
erous  guide;  "Jasper  wants  not  for  friends  in  this  region, 
I  can  assure  you;  and  though  seeing  the  world,  according 
to  his  habits,  may  do  him  good  as  well  as  another,  we 
shall  think  none  the  worse  of  him  if  he  never  quits  us. 
Eau-douce  or  Eau-de-vie,  he  is  a  brave,  true-hearted 
youth,  and  I  always  sleep  as  soundly  when  he  is  on  the 
watch  as  if  I  was  up  and  stirring  myself  say,  and  for  that 
matter,  sounder  too.  The  sergeant's  daughter  here  doesn't 
believe  it  necessary  for  the  lad  to  go  to  sea  in  order  to 
make  a  man  of  him,  or  one  who  is  worthy  to  be  respected 
and  esteemed." 

Mabel  made  no  reply  to  this  appeal,  and  she  even 
looked  towards  the  western  shore,  although  the  dark 
ness  rendered  the  natural  movements  unnecessary  to  con 
ceal  her  face.  But  Jasper  felt  that  there  was  a  necessity 
for  his  saying  something,  the  pride  of  youth  and  manhood 
revolting  at  the  idea  of  his  being  in  a  condition  not  to 
command  the  respect  of  his  fellows  or  the  smiles  of  his 
equals  of  the  other  sex.  Still  he  was  unwilling  to  utter 
aught  that  might  be  considered  harsh  to  the  uncle  of 


THE  PATHFINDER  91 

Mabel;  and  his  self-command  was  perhaps  more  creditable 
than  his  modesty  and  spirit. 

"I  pretend  not  to  things  I  don't  possess,"  he  said,  "and 
lay  no  claim  to  any  knowledge  of  the  ocean  or  of  naviga 
tion.  We  steer  by  the  stars  and  the  compass  on  these 
lakes,  running  from  headland  to  headland;  and  having 
little  need  of  figures  and  calculations,  make  no  use  of 
them.  But  we  have  our  claims  notwithstanding,  as  I  have 
often  heard  from  those  who  have  passed  years  on  the 
ocean.  In  the  first  place,  we  have  always  the  land  aboard, 
and  much  of  the  time  on  a  lee-shore,  and  that  have  fre 
quently  heard  makes  hardy  sailors.  Our  gales  are  sudden 
and  severe,  and  we  are  compelled  to  run  for  our  ports  at 
all  hours." 

"You  have  your  leads,"  interrupted  Cap. 

"They  are  of  little  use,  and  are  seldom  cast." 

"The  deep  seas." 

"I  have  heard  of  such  things,  but  confess  I  never  saw 
one." 

"Oh!  deuce,  with  a  vengeance.  A  trader,  and  no  deep 
sea!  Why,  boy,  you  cannot  pretend  to  be  anything  of  a 
mariner.  Who  the  devil  ever  heard  of  a  seaman  without 
his  deep  sea?" 

"I  do  not  pretend  to  any  particular  skill,  Master  Cap." 

"Except  in  shooting  falls,  Jasper,  except  in  shooting 
falls  and  rifts,"  said  Pathfinder,  coming  to  the  rescue, 
"in  which  business  even  you,  Master  Cap,  must  allow  he 
has  some  handiness.  In  my  judgment,  every  man  is  to  be 
esteemed  or  condemned  according  to  his  gifts;  and  if 
Master  Cap  is  useless  in  running  the  Oswego  Falls,  I  try 
to  remember  that  he  is  useful  when  out  of  sight  of  land ; 
and  if  Jasper  be  useless  when  out  of  sight  of  land,  I  do 
not  forget  that  he  has  a  true  eye  and  steady  hand  when 
running  the  falls." 

"But  Jasper  is  not  useless — would  not  be  useless  when 
out  of  sight  of  land, ' '  said  Mabel,  with  a  spirit  and  energy 
that  caused  her  clear  sweet  voice  to  be  startling  amid  the 
solemn  stillness  of  that  extraordinary  scene.  "No  one  can 
be  useless  there,  who  can  do  so  much  here,  is  what  I  mean; 
though,  I  daresay  he  is  not  as  well  acquainted  with  ships 
as  my  uncle. ' ' 


92  THE  PATHFINDER 

'  'Ay,  bolster  each  other  up  in  your  ignorance, ' '  returned 
Cap,  with  a  sneer.  "We  seamen  are  so  much  out-num 
bered  when  ashore  that  it  is  seldom  we  get  our  dues,  but 
when  you  want  to  be  defended,  or  trade  is  to  be  carried 
on,  there  is  outcry  enough  for  us." 

"But,  uncle,  landsmen  do  not  come  to  attack  our  coasts; 
so  that  seamen  only  meet  seamen." 

"So  much  for  ignorance!  Where  are  all  the  enemies 
that  have  landed  in  this  country,  French  and  English,  let 
me  inquire,  niece?" 

"Sure  enough,  where  are  they?"  ejaculated  Pathfinder. 
"None  can  tell  better  than  we  who  dwell  in  the  woods, 
Master  Cap.  I  have  often  followed  their  line  of  march  by 
bones  bleaching  in  the  rain,  and  have  found  their  trail  by 
graves,  years  after  they  and  their  pride  had  vanished  to 
gether.  Generals  and  privates,  they  lay  scattered  through 
out  the  land  so  many  proof  of  what  men  are  when  led  on 
by  their  love  of  great  names  and  the  wish  to  be  more  than 
their  fellows." 

"I  must  say,  Master  Pathfinder,  that  you  sometimes 
utter  opinions  that  are  a  little  remarkable  for  a  man  who 
lives  by  the  rifle;  seldom  snuffing  the  air  but  he  smells 
gunpowder,  or  turning  out  of  his  berth  but  to  bear  down 
on  an  enemy." 

"If  you  think  I  pass  my  days  in  warfare  against  my 
kind  you  know  neither  me  nor  my  history.  The  man  that 
lives  in  the  woods  and  on  the  frontiers  must  take  the 
chances  of  the  things  among  which  he  dwells.  For  this 
I  am  not  accountable,  being  but  an  humble  and  powerless 
hunter  and  scout  and  guide.  My  real  calling  is  to  hunt 
for  the  army  on  its  marches  and  in  times  of  peace;  al 
though  I  am  more  especially  engaged  in  the  service  of  one 
officer  who  is  now  absent  in  the  settlements  where  I  never 
follow  him.  No,  no;  bloodshed  and  warfare  are  not  my 
real  gifts,  but  peace  and  mercy.  Still,  I  must  face  the  en 
emy  as  well  as  another;  and  as  for  a  Mingo,  I  look  upon 
him  as  man  looks  on  a  snake,  a  creatur'  to  be  put  beneath 
the  heel  whenever  a  fitting  occasion  offers." 

"Well,  well;  I  have  mistaken  your  calling,  which  I  had 
thought  as  regularly  warlike  as  that  of  a  ship's  gunner. 
There  is  my  brother-in-law,  now;  he  has  been  a  soldier 


THE  PATHFINDER  93 

since  he  was  sixteen,  and  he  looks  upon  his  trade  as  every 
way  as  respectable  as  that  of  a  seafaring  man,  a  point  I 
hardly  think  it  worth  while  to  dispute  with  him." 

"My  father  has  been  taught  to  believe  that  it  is  honor 
able  to  carry  arms,"  said  Mabel,  "for  his  father  was  a 
soldier  before  him." 

"Yes,  yes,"  resumed  the  guide;  "most  of  the  sergeant's 
gifts  are  martial,  and  he  looks  at  most  things  in  this 
world  over  the  barrel  of  his  musket.  One  of  his  notions, 
now,  is  to  prefer  a  king's  piece  to  a  regular,  double- 
sighted,  long-barreled  rifle.  Such  conceits  will  come 
over  men  from  long  habit,  and  prejudice  is,  perhaps,  the 
commonest  failing  of  human  natur'." 

While  the  desultory  conversation  just  related  had  been 
carried  on  in  subdued  voices,  the  canoes  were  dropping 
slowly  down  with  the  current  within  the  deep  shadows  of 
the  western  shore,  the  paddles  being  used  merely  to  pre 
serve  the  desired  direction  and  proper  positions.  The 
strength  of  the  stream  varied  materially,  the  water  being 
seemingly  still  in  places,  while  in  other  reaches  it  flowed 
at  a  rate  exceeding  two  or  even  three  miles  in  the  hour. 
On  the  rifts  it  even  dashed  forward  with  a  velocity  that 
was  appalling  to  the  unpractised  eye.  Jasper  was  of  opin 
ion  that  they  might  drift  down  with  the  current  to  the 
mouth  of  the  river  in  two  hours  from  the  time  they  left  the 
shore,  and  he  and  the  Pathfinder  had  agreed  on  the  ex 
pediency  of  suffering  the  canoes  to  float  of  themselves  for 
a  time,  or  at  least  until  they  had  passed  the  first  dangers 
of  their  new  movement.  The  dialogue  had  been  carried  on 
in  voices,  too,  guardedly  low;  for  though  the  quiet  of  deep 
solitude  reigned  in  that  vast  and  nearly  boundless  forest, 
nature  was  speaking  with  her  thousand  tongues  in  the 
eloquent  language  of  night  in  a  wilderness.  The  air 
sighed  through  ten  thousand  trees,  the  water  rippled,  and 
at  places  even  roared  along  the  shores;  and  now  and 
then  was  heard  the  creaking  of  a  branch  or  a  trunk,  as  it 
rubbed  against  some  object  similar  to  itself,  under  the 
vibrations  of  a  nicely  balanced  body.  All  living  sounds 
had  ceased.  Once,  it  is  true,  the  Pathfinder  fancied  he 
heard  the  howl  of  a  distant  wolf,  of  which  a  few  prowled 
through  these  woods;  but  it  was  a  transient  and  doubtful 


94  THE  PATHFINDER 

cry,  that  might  possibly  have  been  attributed  to  the  im 
agination.  When  he  desired  his  companions,  however, 
to  cease  talking,  his  vigilant  ear  had  caught  the  peculiar 
sound  which  is  made  by  the  parting  of  a  dried  branch  of 
a  tree,  and  which,  if  his  senses  did  not  deceive  him,  came 
from  the  western  shore.  All  who  are  accustomed  to  that 
particular  sound  will  understand  how  readily  the  ear  re 
ceives  it,  and  how  easy  it  is  to  distinguish  the  tread  which 
breaks  the  branch  from  every  other  noise  of  the  forest. 

"There  is  the  footstep  of  a  man  on  the  bank,"  said 
Pathfinder  to  Jasper,  speaking  in  neither  a  whisper  nor 
yet  in  a  voice  loud  enough  to  be  heard  at  any  distance. 
"Can  the  accursed  Iroquois  have  crossed  the  river  already, 
with  their  arms,  and  without  a  boat?" 

"It  may  be  the  Delaware.  He  would  follow  us,  of 
course,  down  this  bank,  and  would  know  where  to  look 
for  us.  Let  me  draw  closer  into  the  shore,  and  recon- 
noiter." 

"Go,  boy,  but  be  light  with  the  paddle,  and  on  no  ac 
count  venture  ashore  on  an  onsartainty. " 

"Is  this  prudent?"  demanded  Mabel,  with  an  impetu 
osity  that  rendered  her  incautious  in  modulating  her  sweet 
voice. 

"Very  imprudent,  if  you  speak  so  loud,  fair  one.  I  like 
your  voice,  which  is  soft  and  pleasing,  after  listening  so 
long  to  the  tones  of  men;  but  it  must  not  be  heard  too 
much,  or  too  freely,  just  now.  Your  father,  the  honest 
sergeant,  will  tell  you,  when  you  meet  him,  that  silence 
is  a  double  virtue  on  a  trail.  Go,  Jasper,  and  do  justice 
to  your  own  character  for  prudence. ' ' 

Ten  anxious  minutes  succeeded  the  disappearance  of  the 
canoe  of  Jasper,  which  glided  away  from  that  of  the  Path 
finder  so  noiselessly,  that  it  had  been  swallowed  up  in  the 
gloom  before  Mabel  allowed  herself  to  believe  the  young 
man  would  really  venture  alone  on  a  service  which  struck 
her  imagination  as  singularly  dangerous.  During  this 
time,  the  party  continued  to  float  with  the  current,  no  one 
speaking,  and,  it  might  almost  be  said,  no  one  breathing, 
so  strong  was  the  general  desire  to  catch  the  minutest 
sound  that  should  come  from  the  shore.  But  the  same 
solemn,  we  might,  indeed,  say  sublime,  quiet  reigned  as 


THE  PATHFINDER  95 

before;  the  washing  of  the  water,  as  it  piled  up  against 
some  slight  obstruction,  and  the  sighing  of  the  trees,  alone 
interrupting  the  slumbers  of  the  forest.  At  the  end  of  the 
period  mentioned,  the  snapping  of  dried  branches  was 
again  faintly  heard,  and  the  Pathfinder  fancied  that  the 
sound  of  smothered  voices  reached  him. 

"I  may  be  mistaken,"  he  said,  "for  the  thoughts  of  ten 
fancy  what  the  heart  wishes;  but  these  were  notes  like  the 
low  tones  of  the  Delaware. ' ' 

"Do  the  dead  of  the  savages  ever  walk?"  demanded 
Cap. 

"Ay,  and  run,  too,  in  their  happy  hunting-grounds,  but 
nowhere  else.  A  red-skin  finishes  with  the  'arth,  after 
the  breath  quits  the  body.  It  is  not  one  of  his  gifts  to 
linger  around  his  wigwam  when  his  hour  has  passed." 

"I  see  some  object  on  the  water,"  whispered  Mabel, 
whose  eye  had  not  ceased  to  dwell  on  the  body  of  gloom, 
with  close  intensity,  since  the  disappearance  of  Jasper. 

"It  is  the  canoe,"  returned  the  guide,  greatly  relieved. 
"All  must  be  safe,  or  we  should  have  heard  from  the  lad." 

In  another  minute  the  two  canoes,  which  became  visible 
to  those  they  carried  only  as  they  drew  near  each  other, 
again  floated  side  by  side,  and  the  form  of  Jasper  was 
recognized  at  the  stern  of  his  own  boat.  The  figure  of  a 
second  man  was  seated  in  the  bow;  and,  as  the  young 
sailor  so  wielded  his  paddle  as  to  bring  the  face  of  his 
companion  near  the  eyes  of  the  Pathfinder  and  Mabel, 
they  both  recognized  the  person  of  the  Delaware. 

"Chingachgook— my  brother!"  said  the  guide  in  the 
dialect  of  the  other's  people,  a  tremor  shaking  his  voice 
that  betrayed  the  strength  of  his  feelings.  "Chief  of  the 
Mohicans!  my  heart  is  very  glad.  Often  have  we  passed 
through  blood  and  strife  together,  but  I  was  afraid  it  was 
never  to  be  so  again." 

"Hugh!  The  Mingoes  are  squaws!  Three  of  their  scalp 
hang  at  my  girdle.  They  do  not  know  how  to  strike  the 
Great  Serpent  of  the  Delawares.  Their  hearts  have  no 
blood;  and  their  thoughts  are  on  their  return  path,  across 
the  waters  of  the  Great  Lake. ' ' 

"Have  you  been  among  them,  chief?  and  what  has  be 
come  of  the  warrior  who  was  in  the  river?" 


96  THE  PATHFINDER 

"He  has  turned  into  a  fish,  and  lies  at  the  bottom  with 
the  eels!  Let  his  brothers  bait  their  hooks  for  him. 
Pathfinder,  I  have  counted  the  enemy,  and  have  touched 
their  rifles." 

"Ah,  I  thought  he  would  be  venturesome!"  exclaimed 
the  guide  in  English.  "The  risky  fellow  has  been  in  the 
midst  of  them,  and  has  brought  us  back  their  whole  his 
tory.  Speak,  Chingachgook,  and  I  will  make  our  friends 
as  knowing  as  ourselves. ' ' 

The  Delaware  now  related  in  a  low,  earnest  manner,  the 
substance  of  all  his  discoveries,  since  he  was  last  seen 
struggling  with  his  foe  in  the  river.  Of  the  fate  of  his 
antagonist  he  said  no  more,  it  not  being  usual  for  a  war 
rior  to  boast  in  his  more  direct  and  useful  narratives.  As 
soon  as  he  had  conquered  in  that  fearful  strife,  however, 
he  swam  to  the  eastern  shore,  landed  with  caution,  and 
wound  his  way  in  amongst  the  Iroquois,  concealed  by  the 
darkness,  undetected,  and,  in  the  main,  even  unsuspected. 
Once,  indeed,  he  had  been  questioned;  but  answering  that 
he  was  Arrowhead,  no  further  inquiries  were  made.  By 
the  passing  remarks,  he  soon  ascertained  that  the  party 
was  out  expressly  to  intercept  Mabel  and  her  uncle,  con 
cerning  whose  rank,  however,  they  had  evidently  been 
deceived.  He  also  ascertained  enough  to  justify  the  sus 
picion  that  Arrowhead  had  betrayed  them  to  their  enemies 
for  some  motive  that  it  was  not  now  easy  to  reach,  as  he 
had  not  yet  received  the  reward  of  his  services. 

Pathfinder  communicated  no  more  of  this  intelligence 
to  his  companions  than  he  thought  might  relieve  their 
apprehensions,  intimating,  at  the  same  time,  that  now 
was  the  moment  for  exertion,  the  Iroquois  not  having  yet 
entirely  recovered  from  the  confusion  created  by  their 
losses. 

"We  shall  find  them  at  the  rift,  I  make  no  manner  of 
doubt,"  continued  he;  "and  there  it  will  be  our  fate  to 
pass  them,  or  to  fall  into  their  hands.  The  distance  to 
the  garrison  will  then  be  so  short,  that  I  have  been  think 
ing  of  a  plan  of  landing  with  Mabel  myself,  that  I  may 
take  her  in,  by  some  of  the  by-ways,  and  leave  the  canoes 
to  their  chances  in  the  rapids." 

"It  will  never  succeed,  Pathfinder, ' '  eagerly  interrupted 


THE  PATHFINDER  97 

Jasper.  "Mabel  is  not  strong  enough  to  tramp  the  woods 
in  a  night  like  this.  Put  her  in  my  skiff,  and  I  will  lose 
my  life,  or  carry  her  through  the  rift  safely,  dark  as  it  is. " 

"No  doubt  you  will,  lad;  no  one  doubts  your  willing 
ness  to  do  anything  to  serve  the  sergeant's  daughter;  but 
it  must  be  the  eye  of  Providence,  and  not  your  own,  that 
will  take  you  safely  through  the  Oswego  rift  in  a  night 
like  this." 

"And  who  will  lead  her  safely  to  the  garrison  if  she 
land?  Is  not  the  night  as  dark  on  shore  as  on  the  water? 
or  do  you  think  I  know  less  of  my  calling  than  you  know 
of  yours?" 

"Spiritedly  said,  lad;  but  if  I  should  lose  my  way  in 
the  dark — and  I  believe  no  man  can  say  truly  that  such  a 
thing  ever  yet  happened  to  me— but,  if  I  should  lose  my 
way,  no  other  harm  would  come  of  it  than  to  pass  a  night 
in  the  forest;  whereas  a  false  turn  of  the  paddle,  or  a 
broad  sheer  of  the  canoe,  would  put  you  and  the  young 
woman  into«the  river,  out  of  which  it  is  more  than  prob 
able  the  sergeant's  daughter  would  never  come  alive." 

"I  will  leave  it  too  Mabel  herself;  I  am  certain  that  she 
will  feel  more  secure  in  the  canoe." 

"I  have  great  confidence  in  you  both,"  answered  the 
girl;  "and  have  no  doubts  that  either  will  do  all  he  can 
to  prove  to  my  father  how  much  he  values  him ;  but  I  con 
fess  I  should  not  like  to  quit  the  canoe,  with  the  certainty 
we  have  of  there  being  enemies  like  those  we  have  seen 
in  the  forest.  But  my  uncle  can  decide  for  me  in  this 
matter. ' ' 

"I  have  no  liking  for  the  woods,"  said  Cap,  "while one 
has  a  clear  drift  like  this  on  the  river.  Besides,  Master 
Pathfinder,  to  say  nothing  of  the  savages,  you  overlook  the 
sharks. ' ' 

"Sharks!  who  ever  heard  of  sharks  in  the  wilder 
ness?" 

"Ay!  sharks,  or  bears,  or  wolves — no  matter  what  you 
call  a  thing,  so  it  has  the  mind  and  power  to  bite." 

"Lord,  lord,  man!  do  you  dread  any  creatur'  that  is  to 

be  found  in  the  American  forest?  A  catamount  is  askeary 

animal,  I  will  allow,  but  then  it  is  nothing  in  the  hands 

of  a  practysed  hunter.     Talk  of  the  Mingoes  and  their  dev- 

7 


98  THE  PATHFINDER 

iltries  if  you  will;  but  do  not  raise  a  false  alarm  about 
bears  and  wolves." 

"Ay,  ay,  Master  Pathfinder,  this  is  all  well  enough  for 
you,  who  probably  know  the  name  of  every  creature  you 
would  meet.  Use  is  everything,  and  it  makes  a  man  bold 
when  he  might  otherwise  be  bashful.  I  have  known  sea 
men  in  the  low  latitudes  swim  for  hours  at  a  time  among 
sharks  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  long." 

"This  is  extraordinary!"  exclaimed  Jasper,  who  had 
not  yet  acquired  that  material  part  of  his  trade,  the  abil 
ity  to  spin  a  yarn.  '  'I  have  always  heard  that  it  was  cer 
tain  death  to  venture  in  the  water  among  sharks." 

"I  forgot  to  say,  that  the  lads  always  took  capstan-bars, 
or  gunners'  handspikes,  or  crows  with  them,  to  rap  the 
beasts  over  the  noses  if  they  got  to  be  troublesome.  No, 
no,  I  have  no  liking  for  bears  and  wolves,  though  a  whale, 
in  my  eye,  is  very  much  the  same  sort  of  fish  as  a  red 
herring  after  it  is  dried  and  salted.  Mabel  and  I  had 
better  stick  to  the  canoe." 

"Mabel  would  do  well  to  change  canoes, "  added  Jasper. 
"This  of  mine  is  empty,  and  even  Pathfinder  will  allow 
that  my  eye  is  surer  than  his  own  on  the  water. ' ' 

"That  I  will,  cheerfully,  boy.  The  water  belongs  to 
your  gifts,  and  no  one  will  deny  that  you  have  improved 
them  to  the  utmost.  You  are  right  enough  in  believing 
that  the  sergeant's  daughter  will  be  safer  in  your  canoe 
than  in  this;  and  though  I  would  gladly  keep  her  near 
myself,  I  have  her  welfare  too  much  at  heart  not  to  give 
her  honest  advice.  Bring  your  canoe  close  alongside, 
Jasper,  and  I  will  give  you  what  you  must  consider  as  a 
precious  treasure." 

"I  do  so  consider  it,"  returned  the  youth,  not  losing  a 
moment  in  complying  with  the  request;  when  Mabel  passed 
from  one  canoe  to  the  other  taking  her  seat  on  the  effects 
which  had  hitherto  composed  its  sole  cargo. 

As  soon  as  this  arrangement  was  made,  the  canoes  sep 
arated  a  short  distance,  and  the  paddles  were  used,  though 
with  great  care  to  avoid  making  any  noise.  The  conver 
sation  gradually  ceased ;  and  as  the  dreaded  rift  was  ap 
proached,  all  became  impressed  with  the  gravity  of  the 
moment.  That  their  enemies  would  endeavor  to  reach 


THE  PATHFINDER  99 

this  point  before  them  was  almost  certain;  and  it  seemed 
so  little  probable  anyone  should  attempt  to  pass  it,  in  the 
profound  obscurity  which  reigned,  that  Pathfinder  was 
confident  parties  were  on  both  sides  of  the  'river,  in  the 
hope  of  intercepting  them  when  they  might  land.  He 
would  not  have  made  the  proposal  he  did  had  he  not  felt 
sure  of  his  own  ability  to  convert  this  very  anticipation 
of  success  into  a  means  of  defeating  the  plans  of  the 
Iroquois.  As  the  arrangement  now  stood,  however,  every 
thing  depended  on  the  skill  of  those  who  guided  the  ca 
noes;  for  should  either  hit  a  rock,  if  not  split  asunder,  it 
would  almost  certainly  be  upset,  and  then  would  come  not 
only  all  the  hazards  of  the  river  itself,  but,  for  Mabel,  the 
certainty  of  falling  into  the  hands  of  her  pursuers.  The 
utmost  circumspection  consequently  became  necessary,  and 
each  one  was  too  much  engrossed  with  his  own  thoughts 
to  feel  a  disposition  to  utter  more  than  was  called  for  by 
the  exigencies  of  the  case. 

As  the  canoes  stole  silently  along,  the  roar  of  the  rift 
became  audible,  and  it  required  all  the  fortitude  of  Cap 
to  keep  his  seat,  while  these  boding  sounds  were  ap 
proached,  amid  a  darkness  which  scarcely  permitted  a  view 
of  the  outlines  of  the  wooded  shore  and  of  the  gloomy 
vault  above  his  head.  He  retained  a  vivid  impression  of 
the  falls,  and  his  imagination  was  not  now  idle  in  swelling 
the  dangers  of  the  rift  to  a  level  with  those  of  the  head 
long  descent  he  had  that  day  made,  and  even  to  increase 
them,  under  the  influence  of  doubt  and  uncertainty.  In 
this,  however,  the  old  mariner  was  mistaken,  for  the  Os- 
wego  Rift  and  the  Oswego  Falls  are  very  different  in  their 
characters  and  violence;  the  former  being  no  more  than  a 
rapid,  that  glances  among  shallows  and  rocks,  while  the 
latter  really  deserved  the  name  it  bore,  as  has  been  al 
ready  shown. 

Mabel  certainly  felt  distrust  and  apprehension;  but  her 
entire  situation  was  so  novel,  and  her  reliance  on  her  guide 
so  great,  that  she  retained  a  self-command  which  might 
not  have  existed  had  she  clearer  perceptions  of  the  truth, 
or  been  better  acquainted  with  the  helplessness  of  men 
when  placed  in  opposition  to  the  power  and  majesty  of 
Nature. 


100  THE  PATHFINDER 

"Is  that  the  spot  you  have  mentioned?"  she  said  to 
Jasper,  when  the  roar  of  the  rift  first  came  distinctly  on 
her  ears. 

"It  is;  and  I  beg  you  to  have  confidence  in  me.  We 
are  not  old  acquaintances,  Mabel ;  but  we  live  many  days 
in  one,  in  this  wilderness.  I  think,  already,  that  I  have 
known  you  years!" 

"And  I  do  not  feel  as  if  you  were  a  stranger  to  me, 
Jasper.  I  have  every  reliance  on  your  skill,  as  well  as  on 
your  disposition  to  serve  me." 

"We  shall  see,  we  shall  see.  Pathfinder  is  striking  the 
rapids  too  near  the  center  of  the  river;  the  bed  of  the 
water  is  closer  to  the  eastern  shore;  but  I  cannot  make 
him  hear  me  now.  Hold  firmly  to  the  canoe,  Mabel,  and 
fear  nothing." 

At  the  next  moment  the  swift  current  had  sucked  them 
into  the  rift,  and  for  three  for  four  minutes  the  awe 
struck,  rather  than  the  alarmed,  girl  saw  nothing  around 
her  but  sheets  of  glancing  foam,  heard  nothing  but  the 
roar  of  waters.  Twenty  times  did  the  canoe  appear  about 
to  dash  against  some  curling  and  bright  wave  that  showed 
itself  even  amid  that  obscurity;  and  as  often  did  it  glide 
away  again  unharmed,  impelled  by  the  vigorous  arm  of 
him  who  governed  its  movements.  Once,  and  once  only, 
did  Jasper  seem  to  lose  command  of  his  frail  bark,  during 
which  brief  space  it  fairly  whirled  entirely  round;  but  by 
a  desperate  effort  he  brought  it  again  under  control,  re 
covered  the  lost  channel,  and  was  soon  rewarded  for  all 
his  anxiety  by  finding  himself  floating  quietly  in  the  deep 
water!  below  the  rapids,  secure  from  every  danger,  and 
without  having  taken  in  enough  of  the  element  to  serve 
for  a  draught. 

"All  is  over,  Mabel,"  the  young  man  cried  cheerfully. 
"The  danger  is  past,  and  you  may  now  indeed  hope  to 
meet  your  father  this  very  night. ' ' 

"God  be  praised!  Jasper,  we  shall  owe  this  great  hap 
piness  to  you." 

"The  Pathfinder  may  claim  a  full  share  in  the  merit; 
but  what  has  become  of  the  other  canoe?" 

"I  see  something  near  us  on  the  water;  is  it  not  the 
boat  of  our  friends?" 


THE  PATHFINDER  101 

A  few  strokes  of  the  paddle  brought  Jasper  to  the  side 
of  the  object  in  question;  it  was  the  other  canoe,  empty 
and  bottom  upwards.  No  sooner  did  the  young  man  as 
certain  this  fact,  than  he  began  to  search  for  the  swim 
mers,  and,  to  his  great  joy,  Cap  was  soon  discovered 
drifting  down  with  the  current;  the  old  seaman  preferring 
the  chances  of  drowning  to  those  of  landing  among  sav 
ages.  He  was  hauled  into  the  canoe,  though  not  without, 
difficulty,  and  then  the  search  ended;  for  Jasper  was  per 
suaded  that  the  Pathfinder  would  wade  to  the  shore,  the 
water  being  shallow,  in  preference  to  abandoning  his 
beloved  rifle. 

The  remainder  of  the  passage  was  short,  though  made 
amid  darkness  and  doubt.  After  a  short  pause,  a  dull 
roaring  sound  was  heard,  which  at  times  resembled  the 
mutterings  of  distant  thunder,  and  then  again  brought 
with  it  the  washing  of  waters.  Jasper  announced  to  his 
companions  that  they  now  heard  the  surf  of  the  lake.  Low 
curved  spits  of  land  lay  before  them,  into  the  bay  formed 
by  one  of  which  the  canoe  glided,  and  then  it  shot  up 
noiselessly  upon  a  gravelly  beach.  The  transition  that 
followed  was  so  hurried  and  great,  that  Mabel  scarcely 
knew  what  passed.  In  the  course  of  a  few  minutes,  how 
ever,  sentinels  had  been  passed,  a  gate  was  opened,  and 
the  agitated  girl  found  herself  in  the  arms  of  a  parent 
who  was  almost  a  stranger  to  her. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

*'A  land  of  love,  and  a  land  of  ligrht, 
Withouten  sun,  or  moon,  or  night : 
Where  the  river  swa'd  a  living  stream, 
And  the  lipht  a  pure  celestial  beam: 
The  land  of  vision,  it  would  seem 
A  still,  an  everlasting  dream." 

—QUEEN'S  WAKE. 

THE  rest  that  succeeds  fatigue,  and  which  attends  a 
newly  awakened  sense  of  security,  is  generally  sweet  and 
deep.  Such  was  the  fact  with  Mabel,  who  did  not  rise 
from  her  humble  pallet — such  a  bed  as  a  sergeant's  daugh 
ter  might  claim  in  a  remote  frontier  post — -until  long  after 
the  garrison  had  obeyed  the  usual  summons  of  the  drums, 
and  had  assembled  at  the  morning  parade.  Serr/  ?ant  Dun 
ham,  on  whose  shoulders  fell  the  task  of  attending  to 
these  ordinary  and  daily  duties,  had  got  through  all  his 
morning  avocations,  and  was  beginning  to  think  of  his 
breakfast,  before  his  child  left  her  room,  and  came  into 
the  fresh  air,  equally  bewildered,  delighted,  and  grate 
ful,  at  the  novelty  and  security  of  her  new  situation. 

At  the  time  of  which  we  are  writing,  Oswego  was  one 
of  the  extreme  frontier  posts  of  the  British  possessions  on 
this  continent.  It  had  not  been  long  occupied,  and  was 
garrisoned  by  a  battalion  of  a  regiment  which  had  been 
originally  Scotch,  but  into  which  many  Americans  had 
been  received  since  its  arrival  in  this  country;  an  inno 
vation  that  had  led  the  way  to  Mabel's  father  filling  the 
humble  but  responsible  situation  of  the  oldest  sergeant. 
A  few  young  officers  also  who  were  natives  of  the  colon 
ies,  were  to  be  found  in  the  corps.  The  fort  itself,  like 
most  works  of  that  character,  was  better  adapted  to  resist 
an  attack  of  savages  than  to  withstand  a  regular  siege; 
but  the  great  difficulty  of  transporting  heavy  artillery 
and  other  necessaries  rendered  the  occurrence  of  the  latter 
a  probability  so  remote  as  scarcely  to  enter  into  the  esti 
mate  of  the  engineers  who  had  planned  the  defenses. 

102 


THE  PATHFINDER  103 

There  were  bastions  of  earth  and  logs,  a  dry  ditch,  a 
stockade,  a  parade  of  considerable  extent,  and  barracks  of 
logs,  that  answered  the  double  purpose  of  dwellings  and 
fortifications.  A  few  light  field-pieces  stood  in  the  area 
of  the  fort,  ready  to  be  conveyed  to  any  point  where  they 
might  be  wanted,  and  one  or  two  heavy  iron  guns  looked 
out  from  the  summits  of  the  advanced  angles,  as  so  many 
admonitions  to  the  audacious  to  respect  their  power. 
_  When  Mabel,  quitting  the  convenient,  but  compara 
tively  retired  hut  where  her  father  had  been  permitted 
to  place  her,  issued  into  the  pure  air  of  the  morning,  she 
found  herself  at  the  foot  of  a  bastion,  which  lay  invit 
ingly  before  her,  with  a  promise  of  giving  a  coup  d'ceil 
of  all  that  had  been  concealed  in  the  darkness  of  the  pre 
ceding  night.  Tripping  up  the  grassy  ascent,  the  light- 
hearted  as  well  as  light-footed  girl  found  herself  at  once 
on  a  point  where  the  sight,  at  a  few  varying  glances, 
could  take  in  all  the  external  novelties  of  her  new  situation. 
To  the  southward  lay  the  forest,  through  which  she  had 
been  journeying  so  many  weary  days,  and  which  had 
proved  so  full  of  dangers.  It  was  separated  from  the 
stockade  by  a  belt  of  open  land,  that  had  been  principally 
cleared  of  its  woods  to  form  the  martial  constructions 
around  her.  This  glacis,  for  such  in  fact  was  its  military 
uses,  might  have  covered  a  hundred  acres;  but  with  it 
every  sign  of  civilization  ceased.  All  beyond  was  forest; 
that  dense,  interminable  forest  which  Mabel  could  now 
picture  to  herself  .[through  her  recollections,  with  its  hid 
den  glassy  lakes,  its  dark  rolling  stream,  and  its  world  of 
nature. 

Turning  from  this  view,  our  heroine  felt  her  cheek 
fanned  by  a  fresh  and  grateful  breeze,  such  as  she  had  not 
experienced  since  quitting  the  far  distant  coast.  Here  a 
new  scene  presented  itself;  although  expected,  it  was  not 
without  a  start,  and  a  low  exclamation  indicative  of  pleas 
ure,  that  the  eager  eyes  of  the  girl  drank  in  its  beauties. 
To  the  north,  and  east,  and  west,  in  every  direction,  in 
short,  over  one  entire  half  of  the  novel  panorama,  lay  a 
field  of  rolling  waters.  The  element  was  neither  of  that 
glassy  green  which  distinguishes  the  American  waters  in 
general,  nor  yet  of  the  deep  blue  of  the  ocean,  the  color 


104  THE  PATHFINDER 

being  of  a  slightly  amber  hue,  which  scarcely  affected  its 
limpidity.  No  land  was  to  be  seen,  with  the  exception  of 
the  adjacent  coast,  which  stretched  to  the  right  and  left 
in  an  unbroken  outline  of  forest  with  wide  bays  and  low 
headlands  or  points;  still  much  of  the  shore  was  rocky, 
and  into  its  caverns  the  sluggish  waters  occasionally  rolled, 
producing  a  hollow  sound,  which  resembled  the  concus 
sions  of  a  distant  gun.  No  sail  whitened  the  surface,  no 
whale  or  other  fish  gambolled  on  its  bosom,  no  sign  of  use 
or  service  rewarded  the  longest  and  most  minute  gaze  of 
its  boundless  expanse.  It  was  a  scene,  on  one  side,  of 
apparently  endless  forests,  while  a  waste  of  seemingly 
interminable  water  spread  itself  on  the  other.  Nature 
appeared  to  have  delighted  in  producing  grand  effects,  by 
setting  two  of  her  principal  agents  in  bold  relief  to  each 
other,  neglecting  details;  the  eye  turning  from  the  broad 
carpet  of  leaves  to  the  still  broader  field  of  fluid,  from 
the  endless  but  gentle  heavings  of  the  lake  to  the  holy 
calm  and  poetical  solitude  of  the  forest,  with  wonder  and 
delight. 

Mabel  Dunham,  though  unsophisticated,  like  most  of 
her  countrywomen  of  that  period,  and  ingenuous  and 
frank  as  any  warm-hearted  and  sincere-minded  girl  well 
could  be,  was  not  altogether  without  a  feeling  for  the 
poetry  of  this  beautiful  earth  of  ours.  Although  she  could 
scarcely  be  said  to  be  educated  at  all,  for  few  of  her  sex 
at  that  day  and  in  this  country  received  much  more  than 
the  rudiments  of  plain  English  instruction,  still  she  had 
been  taught  much  more  than  was  usual  for  young  women 
in  her  own  station  in  life;  and,  in  one  sense  certainly,  she 
did  credit  to  her  teaching.  The  widow  of  a  field-officer, 
who  formerly  belonged  to  the  same  regiment  as  her  father, 
had  taken  the  child  in  charge  at  the  death  of  its  mother; 
and  under  the  care  of  this  lady  Mabel  had  acquired  some 
tastes  and  many  ideas  which  otherwise  might  always  have 
remained  strangers  to  her.  Her  situation  in  the  family 
had  been  less  that  of  a  domestic  than  of  a  humble  com 
panion,  and  the  results  were  quite  apparent  in  her  attire, 
her  language,  her  sentiments,  and  even  in  her  feelings, 
though  neither,  perhaps,  rose  to  the  level  of  those  which 
would  properly  characterize  a  lady.  She  had  lost  the  less 


THE  PATHFINDER  105 

refined  habits  and  manners  of  one  in  her  original  position, 
without  having  quite  reached  a  point  that  disqualified  her 
for  the  situation  in  life  that  the  accidents  of  birth  and 
fortune  would  probably  compel  her  to  fill.  All  else  that 
was  distinctive  and  peculiar  in  her  belonged  to  natural 
character. 

With  such  antecedents  it  will  occasion  the  reader  no 
wonder  if  he  learns  that  Mabel  viewed  the  novel  scene 
before  her  with  a  pleasure  far  superior  to  that  produced 
by  vulgar  surprise.  She  felt  its  ordinary  beauties  as  most 
would  have  felt  them,  but  she  had  also  a  feeling  for  its 
sublimity — for  that  softened  solitude,  that  calm  grandeur, 
and  eloquent  repose,  which  ever  pervades  broad  views  of 
natural  objects  yet  undisturbed  by  the  labors  and  struggles 
of  man. 

"How  beautiful!"  she  exclaimed,  unconscious  of  speak 
ing,  as  she  stood  on  the  solitary  bastion,  facing  the  air 
from  the  lake,  and  experiencing  the  genial  influence  of  its 
freshness  pervading  both  her  body  and  her  mind.  "How 
very  beautiful!  and  yet  how  singular!" 

The  words,  and  the  train  of  her  ideas,  were  interrupted 
by  a  touch  of  a  finger  on  her  shoulder,  and  turning,  in  the 
expectation  of  seeing  her  father,  Mabel  found  Pathfinder 
at  her  side.  He  was  leaning  quietly  on  his  long  rifle,  and 
laughing  in  his  quiet  manner,  while,  with  an  outstretched 
arm,  he  swept  over  the  whole  panorama  of  land  and  water. 

"Here  you  have  both  our  domains,"  said  he,  "Jasper's 
and  mine.  The  lake  is  for  him,  and  the  woods  are  for 
me.  The  lad  sometimes  boasts  of  the  breadth  of  his  do 
minions;  but  I  tell  him  my  trees  make  as  broad  a  plain  on 
the  face  of  this  'arth  as  all  his  water.  Well,  Mabel,  you 
are  fit  for  either;  for  I  do  not  see  that  fear  of  the  Min- 
goes,  or  night-marches,  can  destroy  your  pretty  looks." 

"It  is  a  new  character  for  the  Pathfinder  to  appear  in, 
to  compliment  a  silly  girl." 

"Not  silly,  Mabel;  no,  not  in  the  least  silly.  The  ser 
geant's  daughter  would  do  discredit  to  her  worthy  father, 
were  she  to  do  or  say  any  thing  that  could  be  called  silly." 

"Then  she  must  take  care  and  not  put  too  much  faith 
in  treacherous,  flattering  words.  But,  Pathfinder,  I  re 
joice  to  see  you  among  us  again;  for,  though  Jasper  did 


106  THE  PATHFINDER 

not  seem  to  feel  much  uneasiness,  I  was  afraid  some  acci 
dent  might  have  happened  to  you  and  your  friend  on  that 
frightful  rift." 

"The  lad  knows  us  both,  and  was  sartain  that  we  should 
not  drown,  which  is  scarcely  one  of  my  gifts.  It  would 
have  been  hard  swimming  of  a  sartainty,  with  a  long- 
barrelled  rifle  in  the  hand;  and  what  between  the  game, 
and  the  savages  and  the  French,  Killdeer  and  I  have  gone 
through  too  much  in  company  to  part  very  easily.  No,  no; 
we  waded  ashore,  the  rift  being  shallow  enough  for  that 
with  small  exceptions,  and  we  landed  with  our  arms  in 
our  hands.  We  had  to  take  our  time  for  it,  on  account 
of  the  Iroquois,  I  will  own;  but,  as  soon  as  the  skulking 
vagabonds  saw  the  lights  that  the  sergeant  sent  down  to 
your  canoe,  we  well  understood  they  would  decamp,  since 
a  visit  might  have  been  expected  from  some  of  the  gar 
rison.  So  it  was  only  sitting  patiently  on  the  stones  for 
an  hour,  and  all  the  danger  was  over.  Patience  is  the 
greatest  of  virtues  in  a  woodsman." 

"I  rejoice  to  hear  this,  for  fatigue  itself  could  scarcely 
make  me  sleep,  for  thinking  of  what  might  befall  you. ' ' 

"Lord  bless  your  tender  little  heart,  Mabel!  but  this  is 
the  way  with  all  you  gentle  ones.  I  must  say,  on  my  part, 
however,  that  I  was  right  glad  to  see  the  lanterns  come 
down  to  the  waterside,  which  I  knew  to  be  a  sure  sign  of 
your  safety.  We  hunters  and  guides  are  rude  beings; 
but  we  have  our  feelings  and  our  idees,  as  well  as  any 
general  in  the  army.  Both  Jasper  and  I  would  have  died 
before  you  should  have  come  to  harm — we  would." 

"I  thank  you  for  all  you  did  for  me,  Pathfinder;  from 
the  bottom  of  my  heart,  I  thank  you;  and,  depend  on  it, 
my  father  shall  know  it.  I  have  already  told  him  much, 
but  have  still  a  duty  to  perform  on  this  subject." 

"Tush,  Mabel!  The  sergeant  knows  what  the  woods 
be,  and  what  men — true  red  men — be,  too.  There  is  little 
need  to  tell  him  anything  about  it.  Well,  now  you  have 
met  your  father,  do  you  find  the  honest  old  soldier  the 
sort  of  person  you  expected  to  find?" 

"He  is  my  own  dear  father,  and  received  me  as  a  soldier 
and  a  father  should  receive  a  child.  Have  you  known  him 
long,  Pathfinder?" 


THE  PATHFINDER  10? 

"That  is  as  people  count  time.  I  was  just  twelve  when 
the  sergeant  took  me  on  my  first  scouting,  and  that  is 
now  more  than  twenty  years  ago.  We  had  a  tramping 
time  of  it;  and,  as  it  was  before  your  day,  you  would 
have  had  no  father,  had  not  the  rifle  been  one  of  my 
natural  gifts." 

"Explain  yourself." 

"It  is  too  simple  for  many  words.  We  were  ambushed, 
and  the  sergeant  got  a  bad  hurt,  and  would  have  lost  his 
scalp,  but  for  a  sort  of  inbred  turn  I  took  to  the  weapon. 
We  brought  him  off,  however,  and  a  handsomer  head 
of  hair,  for  his  time  of  life,  is  not  to  be  found  in  the 
rijiment  than  the  sergeant  carries  about  with  him  this 
blessed  day." 

"You  saved  my  father's  life,  Pathfinder!"  exclaimed 
Mabel,  unconsciously,  though  warmly,  taking  one  of  his 
hard,  sinewy  hands  into  both  her  own.  "God  bless  you 
for  this,  too,  among  your  other  good  acts!" 

"Nay,  I  did  not  say  that  much,  though  I  believe  I  did 
save  his  scalp.  A  man  might  live  without  a  scalp,  and  so 
I  cannot  say  I  saved  his  life.  Jasper  may  say  that  much 
consarning  you;  for  without  his  eye  and  arm  the  canoe 
would  never  have  passed  the  rift  in  safety  on  anight  like 
the  last.  The  gifts  of  the  lad  are  for  the  water,  while 
mine  are  for  the  hunt  and  the  trail.  He  is  yonder,  in  the 
cove  there,  looking  after  the  canoes,  and  keeping  his  eye 
on  his  beloved  little  craft.  To  my  eye,  there  is  no  like 
lier  youth  in  these  parts  than  Jasper  Western." 

For  the  first  time  since  she  had  left  her  room,  Mabel 
now  turned  her  eyes  beneath  her,  and  got  a  view  of  what 
might  be  called  the  foreground  of  the  remarkable  picture 
she  had  been  studying  with  so  much  pleasure.  The  Oswego 
threw  its  dark  waters  into  the  lake,  between  banks  of  some 
height;  that  on  its  eastern  side  being  bolder  and  project 
ing  farther  north  than  that  on  its  western.  The  fort  was 
on  the  latter,  and  immediately  beneath  it  were  a  few  huts 
of  logs,  which,  as  they  could  not  interfere  with  the  defense 
of  the  place,  had  been  erected  along  the  strand  for  the 
purpose  of  receiving  and  containing  such  stores  as  were 
landed,  or  were  intended  to  be  embarked,  in  the  commun 
ications  between  the  different  ports  on  the  shores  of  On- 


108  THE  PATHFINDER 

tario.  Two  low,  curved,  gravelly  points  had  been  formed 
with  surprising  regularity  by  the  counteracting  forces  of 
the  northerly  winds  and  the  swift  current,  and,  inclining 
from  the  storms  of  the  lake,  formed  two  coves  within  the 
river;  that  on  the  western  side  was  the  most  deeply  in 
dented;  and,  as  it  also  had  the  most  water,  it  formed  a 
sort  of  picturesque  little  port  for  the  post.  It  was  along 
the  narrow  strand  that  lay  between  the  low  height  of  the 
fort  and  the  water  of  this  cove,  that  the  rude  buildings 
just  mentioned  had  been  erected. 

Several  skiffs,  bateaux,  and  canoes  were  hauled  up  on 
the  shore,  and  in  the  cove  itself  lay  the  little  craft  from 
which  Jasper  obtained  his  claim  to  be  considered  a  sailor. 
She  was  cutter-rigged,  might  have  been  of  forty  tons 
burthen,  was  so  neatly  constructed  and  painted  as  to  have 
something  of  the  air  of  a  vessel  of  war,  though  entirely 
without  quarters,  and  rigged  and  sparred  with  so  scrup 
ulous  a  regard  to  proportions  and  beauty,  as  well  as  fitness 
and  judgment,  as  to  give  her  an  appearance  that  even 
Mabel  at  once  distinguished  to  be  gallant  and  trim.  Her 
mould  was  admirable,  for  a  wright  of  great  skill  had  sent 
her  drafts  from  England,  at  the  express  request  of  the 
officer  who  had  caused  her  to  be  constructed;  her  paint 
dark,  warlike,  and  neat;  and  the  long  coach-whip  pennant 
that  she  wore  at  once  proclaimed  her  to  be  the  property 
of  the  king.  Her  name  was  the  Scud. 

"That,  then,  is  the  vessel  of  Jasper!"  said  Mabel,  who 
associated  the  master  of  the  little  craft  very  naturally 
with  the  cutter  itself.  "Are  there  many  others  on  this 
lake?" 

"The  Frenchers  have  three:  one  of  which,  they  tell 
me,  is  a  real  ship,  such  as  are  used  on  the  ocean;  another 
a  brig;  and  a  third  is  a  cutter,  like  the  Scud  here,  which 
they  call  the  Squirrel,  in  their  own  tongue,  however;  and 
which  seems  to  have  a  natural  hatred  of  our  own  pretty 
boat,  for  Jasper  seldom  goes  out  that  the  Squirrel  is  not 
at  his  heels." 

"And  is  Jasper  one  to  run  from  a  Frenchman,  though 
he  appears  in  the  shape  of  a  squirrel,  and  that,  too,  on  the 
water?" 

"Of  what  use  would  valor  be  without  the  means  of 


THE  PATHFINDER  109 

turning  it  to  account?  Jasper  is  a  brave  boy,  as  all  on 
this  frontier  know;  but  he  has  no  gun  except  a  little 
howitzer,  and  then  his  crew  consists  only  of  two  men  be 
sides  himself,  and  a  boy.  I  was  with  him  in  one  of  his 
trampooses,  and  the  youngster  was  risky  enough,  for  he 
brought  us  so  near  the  enemy  that  rifles  began  to  talk; 
but  the  Frenchers  carry  cannon  and  ports,  and  never  show 
their  faces  outside  of  Frontenac,  without  having  some 
twenty  men,  besides  their  Squirrel,  in  their  cutter.  No, 
no;  this  Scud  was  built  for  flying,  and  the  major  says  he 
will  not  put  her  in  a  fighting  humor  by  giving  her  men 
and  arms,  lest  she  should  take  him  at  his  word,  and  get 
her  wings  clipped.  I  know  little  of  these  things,  for  my 
gifts  are  not  at  all  in  that  way;  but  I  see  the  reason  of 
the  thing — I  see  its  reason,  though  Jasper  does  not." 

"Ah!  here  is  my  uncle,  none  the  worse  for  his  swim, 
coming  to  look  at  this  inland  sea." 

Sure  enough,  Cap,  who  had  announced  his  approach  by 
a  couple  of  lusty  hems,  now  made  his  appearance  on  the 
bastion,  where,  after  nodding  to  his  niece  and  her  com 
panion,  he  made  a  deliberate  survey  of  the  expanse  of 
water  before  him.  In  order  to  effect  this  at  his  ease,  the 
mariner  mounted  on  one  of  the  old  iron  guns,  folded  his 
arms  across  his  breast,  and  balanced  his  body,  as  if  he 
felt  the  motion  of  a  vessel.  To  complete  the  picture,  he 
had  a  short  pipe  in  his  mouth. 

"Well,  Master  Cap,"  asked  the  Pathfinder  innocently, 
for  he  did  not  detect  the  expression  of  contempt  that  was 
gradually  settling  on  the  features  of  the  other;  "is  it  not 
a  beautiful  sheet,  and  fit  to  be  named  a  sea?" 

"This,   then  is  what  you  call  your  lake?"  demanded 
Cap  sweeping  the  northern  horizon  with  his  pipe. 
say,  is  this  really  your  lake?" 

"Sartain;  and,  if  the  judgment  of  one  who  has  hvec 
on  the  shores  of  many  others  can  be  taken,  a  very  good 

lake  it  is." 

"Just  as  I  expected.  A  pond  in  dimensions,  and  a 
scuttle-butt  in  taste.  It  is  all  in  vain  to  travel  inland  in 
the  hope  of  seeing  anything  either  full-grown  or  useful,  1 
knew  it  would  turn  out  just  in  this  way." 

"What  is  the  matter  with  Ontario,  Master  Cap  7 


110  THE  PATHFINDER 

large,  and  fair  to  look  at,  and  pleasant  enough  to  drink, 
for  those  who  can't  get  at  the  water  of  the  springs." 

"Do  you  call  this  large?"  asked  Cap,  again  sweeping 
the  air  with  the  pipe.  "I  will  just  ask  you  what  there  is 
large  about  it?  Didn't  Jasper  himself  confess  that  it  was 
only  some  twenty  leagues  from  shore  to  shore?" 

"But,  uncle,"  interposed  Mabel,  "no  land  is  to  be  seen 
except  here  on  our  own  coast.  To  me  it  looks  exactly 
like  the  ocean." 

"This  bit  of  a  pond  look  like  the  ocean !  Well,  Magnet, 
that  from  a  girl  who  has  had  real  seamen  in  her  family  is 
downright  nonsense.  What  is  there  about  it,  pray,  that 
has  even  the  outline  of  a  sea  on  it?" 

"Why,  there  is  water — water — water — nothing  but 
water,  for  miles  on  miles — far  as  the  eye  can  see." 

"And  isn't  there  water — water — water — nothing  but 
water  for  miles  on  miles  in  your  rivers,  that  you  have 
been  canoeing  through,  too? — ay,  and  'as  far  as  the  eye 
can  see,'  in  the  bargain?" 

"Yes,  uncle,  but  the  rivers  have  their  banks,  and  there 
are  trees  along  them,  and  they  are  narrow." 

"And  isn't  this  a  bank  where  we  stand?  don't  these 
soldiers  call  this  the  bank  of  the  lake?  and  aren't  there 
trees  in  thousands?  and  aren't  twenty  leagues  narrow 
enough  of  all  conscience?  Who  the  devil  ever  heard  of 
the  banks  of  the  ocean,  unless  it  might  be  the  banks  that 
are  under  water?" 

"But,  uncle,  we  cannot  see  across  this  lake,  as  we  can 
see  across  a  river." 

"There  you  are  out,  Magnet.  Aren't  the  Amazon  and 
Oronoco  and  La  Plata  rivers,  and  can  you  see  across  them? 
Hark'e,  Pathfinder,  I  very  much  doubt  if  this  stripe  of 
water  here  be  even  a  lake;  for  to  me  it  appears  to  be  only 
a  river.  You  are  by  no  means  particular  about  your 
geography,  I  find,  up  here  in  the  woods." 

"There  you  are  out,  Master  Cap.  There  is  a  river,  and 
a  noble  one,  too,  at  each  end  of  it;  but  this  is  old  Ontario 
before  you;  and,  though  it  is  not  my  gift  to  live  on  a 
lake,  to  my  judgment  there  are  few  better  than  this." 

"And,  uncle,  if  we  stood  on  the  beach  at  Rockaway, 
what  more  should  we  see  than  we  now  behold?  There  is 


THE  PATHFINDER  111 

a  shore  on  one  side,  or  banks  there,  and  trees,  too,  as  well 
as  those  which  are  here." 

"This  is  perverseness,  Magnet,  and  young  girls  should 
steer  clear  of  anything  like  obstinacy.  In  the  first  place, 
the  ocean  has  coasts,  but  no  banks,  except  the  Grand 
Banks,  as  I  tell  you,  which  are  out  of  sight  of  land ;  and 
you  will  not  pretend  that  this  bank  is  out  of  sight  of 
land,  or  even  under  water?" 

As  Mabel  could  not  very  plausibly  set  up  this  extrava 
gant  opinion,  Cap  pursed  the  subject,  his  countenance 
beginning  to  discover  the  triumph  of  a  successful  dis 
putant. 

"And  then  them  trees  bear  no  comparison  to  these 
trees.  The  coasts  of  the  ocean  have  farms  and  cities 
and  country-seats,  and,  in  some  parts  of  the  world,  castles 
and  monasteries  and  lighthouses — ay,  ay — lighthouses,  in 
particular,  on  them;  not  one  of  all  which  things  is  to  be 
seen  here.  No,  no,  Master  Pathfinder;  I  never  heard  of 
an  ocean  that  hadn't  more  or  less  lighthouses  on  it; 
whereas,  hereaway  there  is  not  even  a  beacon." 

"There  is  what  is  better,  there  is  what  is  better;  a  for 
est  and  noble  trees,  a  fit  temple  of  God." 

"Ay,  your  forest  may  do  for  a  lake;  but  of  what  use 
would  an  ocean  be  if  the  earth  all  around  it  were  forest? 
Ships  would  be  unnecessary,  as  timber  might  be  floated  in 
rafts,  and  there  would  be  an  end  of  trade,  and  what 
would  a  world  be  without  trade?  I  am  of  that  philoso 
pher's  opinion  who  says  human  nature  was  invented  for 
the  purposes  of  trade.  Magnet,  I  am  astonished  that  you 
should  think  this  water  even  looks  like  sea- water!  Now, 
I  daresay  that  there  isn't  a  thing  as  a  whale  in  all  your 
lake,  Master  Pathfinder!" 

"I  never  heard  of  one,  I  will  confess;  but  I  am  no 
judge  of  animals  that  live  in  the  water,  unless  it  be  the 
fishes  of  the  rivers  and  the  brooks. ' ' 

"Nor  a  grampus,  nor  a  porpoise  even?  not  so  much  as 
a  poor  devil  of  a  shark?" 

"I  will  not  take  it  on  myself  to  say  there  is  either. 
My  gifts  are  not  in  that  way,  I  tell  you,  Master  Cap." 

"Nor  herring,  nor  albatross,  nor  flying-fish?"  continued 
Cap,  who  kept  his  eye  fastened  on  the  guide,  in  order  to 


112  THE  PATHFINDER 

see  how  far  he  might  venture.     "No  such  thing  as  a  fish 
that  can  fly,  I  daresay?" 

"A  fish  that  can  fly!  Master  Cap,  Master  Cap,  do  not 
think,  because  we  are  mere  borderers,  that  we  have  no 
idees  of  natur',  and  what  she  has  been  pleased  to  do.  I 
know  there  are  squirrels  that  can  fly — 

'  'A  squirrel  fly ! — the  devil,  Master  Pathfinder !  Do  you 
suppose  that  you  have  got  a  boy  on  his  first  v'y'ge  up 
here  among  you?" 

"I  know  nothing  of  your  v'y'ges,  Master  Cap,  though  I 
suppose  them  to  have  been  many;  for  as  for  what  belongs 
to  natur'  in  the  woods,  what  I  have  seen  I  may  tell,  and 
not  fear  the  face  of  man. ' ' 

"And  do  you  wish  me  to  understand  that  you  have  seen 
a  squirrel  fly?" 

"If  you  wish  to  understand  the  power  of  God,  Master 
Cap,  you  will  do  well  to  believe  that,  and  many  other 
things  of  a  like  natur',  for  you  maybe  quite  sartain  it  is 
true." 

"And  yet,  Pathfinder,"  said  Mabel,  looking  so  prettily 
and  sweetly  even  while  she  played  with  the  guide's  in 
firmity,  that  he  forgave  her  in  his  heart,  "you  who  speak 
so  reverently  of  the  power  of  the  Deity,  appear  to  doubt 
that  a  fish  can  fly. ' ' 

"I  have  not  said  it,  I  have  not  said  it;  and  if  Master 
Cap  is  ready  to  testify  to  the  fact,  unlikely  as  it  seems,  I 
am  willing  to  try  to  think  it  true.  I  think  it  every  man's 
duty  to  believe  in  the  power  of  God,  however  difficult  it 
may  be." 

"And  why  isn't  my  fish  as  likely  to  have  wings  as  your 
squirrel?"  demanded  Cap,  with  more  logic  than  was  his 
wont.  "That  fishes  do  and  can  fly  is  as  true  as  it  is 
reasonable. ' ' 

"Nay,  that  is  the  only  difficulty  in  believing  the  story, ' ' 
rejoined  the  guide.  "It  seems  unreasonable  to  give  an 
animal  that  lives  in  the  water  wings,  which  seemingly 
can  be  of  no  use  to  it." 

"And  do  you  suppose  that  the  fishes  are  such  asses  as 
to  fly  about  under  water,  when  they  are  once  fairly  fitted 
out  with  wings?" 

"Nay,  I  know  nothing  of  the  matter;    but  that  fish 


THE  PATHFINDER  113 

should  fly  in  the  air  seems  more  contrary  to  natur'  still, 
than  that  they  should  fly  in  their  own  element — that  in 
which  they  were  born  and  brought  up,  as  one  might  say." 

"So  much  for  contracted  ideas,  Magnet.  The  fish  fly 
out  of  water  to  run  away  from  their  enemies  in  the  water; 
and  there  you  see  not  only  the  fact,  but  the  reason  for  it. ' ' 

"Then  I  suppose  it  must  be  true, ' '  said  the  guide  quietly. 
"How  long  are  their  flights?" 

"Not  quite  as  far  as  those  of  pigeons,  perhaps;  but 
far  enough  to  make  an  offing.  As  for  those  squirrels  of 
yours,  we'll  say  no  more  about  them,  friend  Pathfinder, 
as  I  suppose  they  were  mentioned  just  as  a  make-weight 
to  the  fish,  in  favor  of  the  woods.  But  what  is  this  thing 
anchored  here  under  the  hill?" 

"That  is  the  cutter  of  Jasper,  uncle,"  said  Mabel  hur 
riedly;  "and  a  very  pretty  vessel  I  think  it  is.  Its  name, 
too,  is  the  Scud." 

"Ay,  it  will  do  well  enough  for  a  lake,  perhaps,  but 
it's  no  great  affair.  The  lad  has  got  a  standing  bowsprit, 
and  who  ever  saw  a  cutter  with  a  standing  bowsprit 
before?" 

"But  may  there  not  be  some  good  reason  for  it,  on  a 
lake  like  this  uncle?" 

"Sure  enough — I  must  remember  this  is  not  the  ocean, 
though  it  does  look  so  much  like  it." 

"Ah,  uncle!  then  Ontario  does  look  like  the  ocean, 
after  all?" 

"In  your  eyes,  I  mean,  and  those  of  Pathfinder;  not  in 
the  least  in  mine,  Magnet.  Now  you  might  set  me  down 
out  yonder,  in  the  middle  of  this  bit  of  a  pond,  and  that, 
too,  in  the  darkest  night  that  ever  fell  from  the  heavens, 
and  in  the  smallest  canoe,  and  I  could  tell  you  it  was  only 
a  lake.  For  that  matter,  the  Dorotfiy"  (the  name  of  his 
vessel)  '  'would  find  it  out  as  quick  as  I  could  myself.  I 
do  not  believe  that  brig  would  make  more  than  a  couple 
of  short  stretches,  at  the  most,  before  she  would  perceive 
the  difference  between  Ontario  and  the  old  Atlantic, 
once  took  her  down  into  one  of  the  large  South  American 
bays,  and  she  behaved  herself  as  awkwardly  as  a  booby 
would  in  a  church  with  the  congregation  in  a  hurry.  And 
Jasper  sails  that  boat?  I  must  have  a  cruise  with  the 
8 


114  THE  PATHFINDER 

lad,  Magnet,  before  I  quit  you,  just  for  the  name  of  the 
thing.  It  would  never  do  to  say  I  got  in  sight  of  this 
pond,  and  went  away  without  taking  a  trip  on  it." 

"Well,  well,  you  needn't  wait  long  for  that,"  returned 
Pathfinder;  "for  the  sergeant  is  about  to  embark  with  a 
party,  to  relieve  a  post  among  the  Thousand  Islands;  and 
as  I  heard  him  say  he  intended  that  Mabel  should  go 
along,  you  can  join  company,  too." 

"Is  this  true,  Magnet?" 

"I  believe  it  is,"  returned  the  girl,  a  flush  so  imper 
ceptible  as  to  escape  the  observation  of  her  companions 
glowing  on  her  cheeks;  "though  I  have  had  so  little  op 
portunity  to  talk  with  my  dear  father  that  I  am  not  quite 
certain.  Here  he  comes,  however,  and  you  can  inquire 
of  himself." 

Notwithstanding  his  humble  rank,  there  was  something 
in  the  mien  and  character  of  Sergeant  Dunham  that  com 
manded  respect;  of  a  tall,  imposing  figure,  grave  and 
saturnine  disposition,  and  accurate  and  precise  in  his  acts 
and  manner  of  thinking,  even  Cap,  dogmatical  and  super 
cilious  as  he  usually  was  with  landsmen,  did  not  presume 
to  take  the  same  liberties  with  the  old  soldier  as  he  did 
with  his  other  friends.  It  was  often  remarked  that  Ser 
geant  Dunham  received  more  true  respect  from  Duncan 
of  Lundie,  the  Scotch  laird  who  commanded  the  post,  than 
most  of  the  subalterns;  for  experience  and  tried  services 
were  of  quite  as  much  value  in  the  eyes  of  the  veteran 
major  as  birth  and  money.  While  the  sergeant  never 
even  hoped  to  rise  any  higher,  he  so  far  respected  himself 
and  his  present  station  as  always  to  act  in  away  to  com 
mand  attention;  and  the  habit  of  mixing  so  much  with 
inferiors,  whose  passions  and  dispositions  he  felt  it  neces 
sary  to  restrain  by  distance  and  dignity,  had  so  far  colored 
his  whole  deportment,  that  few  were  altogether  free  from 
its  influence.  While  the  captains  treated  him  kindly  and 
as  an  old  comrade,  the  lieutenants  seldom  ventured  to 
dissent  from  his  military  opinions;  and  the  ensigns,  it 
was  remarked,  actually  manifested  a  species  of  respect 
that  amounted  to  something  very  like  deference.  It  is  no 
wonder,  then,  that  the  announcement  of  Mabel  put  a 
sudden  termination  to  the  singular  dialogue  we  have  just 


THE  PATHFINDER  115 

related,  though  it  had  often  been  observed  that  the  Path 
finder  was  the  only  man  on  that  frontier,  beneath  the  con 
dition  of  a  gentleman,  who  presumed  to  treat  the  sergeant 
at  all  as  an  equal,  or  even  with  the  cordial  familiarity  of 
a  friend. 

"Good  morrow,  brother  Cap,"  said  the  sergeant  giving 
the  military  salute,  as  he  walked,  in  a  grave,  stately 
manner,  on  the  bastion.  "My  morning  duty  has  made 
me  seem  forgetful  of  you  and  Mabel ;  but  we  have  now  an 
hour  or  two  to  spare,  and  to  get  acquainted.  Do  you  not 
perceive,  brother,  a  strong  likeness  in  the  girl  to  her  we 
have  so  long  lost?" 

"Mabel  is  the  image  of  her  mother,  sergeant,  as  I  have 
always  said,  with  a  little  of  your  firmer  figure;  though 
for  that  matter,  the  Caps  were  never  wanting  in  spring 
and  activity." 

Mabel  cast  a  timid  glance  at  the  stern,  rigid  counte 
nance  of  her  father,  of  whom  she  had  ever  thought,  as 
the  warm-hearted  dwell  on  the  affection  of  their  absent 
parents;  and,  as  she  saw  that  the  muscles  of  his  face  were 
working,  notwithstanding  the  stiffness  and  method  of  his 
manner,  her  very  heart  yearned  to  throw  herself  on  his 
bosom  and  to  weep  at  will.  But  he  was  so  much  colder  in 
externals,  so  much  more  formal  and  distant  than  she  had 
expected  to  find  him,  that  she  would  not  have  dared  to 
hazard  the  freedom,  even  had  they  been  alone. 

"You  have  taken  a  long  and  troublesome  journey, 
brother,  on  my  account;  and  we  will  try  to  make  you 
comfortable  while  you  stay  among  us." 

"I  hear  you  are  likely  to  receive  orders  to  lift  your 
anchor,  sergeant,  and  to  shift  your  berth  into  a  part  of 
the  world  where  they  say  there  are  a  thousand  islands." 

"Pathfinder,  this  is  some  of  your  forgetfulness?" 

"Nay,  nay,  sergeant,  I  forgot  nothing;  but  it  did  not 
seem  to  me  necessary  to  hide  your  intentions  so  very 
closely  from  your  own  flesh  and  blood." 

"All  military  movements  ought  to  be  made  with  as 
little  conversation  as  possible,"  returned  the  sergeant, 
tapping  the  guide's  shoulder  in  a  friendly  but  reproach 
ful  manner.  "You  have  passed  too  much  of  your  life  in 
front  of  the  French  not  to  know  the  value  of  silence.  But 


116  THE  PATHFINDER 

no  matter;  the  thing  must  soon  be  known,  and  there  is 
no  great  use  in  try  ing  now  to  conceal  it.  We  shall  embark 
a  relief  party  shortly  for  a  post  on  the  lake  though  I  do 
not  say  it  is  for  the  Thousand  Islands,  and  I  may  have  to 
go  with  it,  in  which  case  I  intend  to  take  Mabel  to  make 
my  broth  for  me;  and  I  hope,  brother,  you  will  not  despise 
a  soldier's  fare  for  a  month  or  so." 

"That  will  depend  on  the  manner  of  marching.  I  have 
no  love  for  woods  and  swamps. ' ' 

"We  shall  sail  in  the  Scud;  and,  indeed,  the  whole 
service,  which  is  no  stranger  to  us,  is  likely  enough  to 
please  one  accustomed  to  the  water. ' ' 

"Ay,  to  salt-water  if  you  will,  but  not  to  lake-water. 
If  you  have  no  person  to  handle  that  bit  of  a  cutter  for 
you,  I  have  no  objection  to  ship  for  the  v'y'ge,  notwith 
standing;  though  I  shall  look  on  the  whole  affair  as  so 
much  time  thrown  away,  for  I  consider  it  an  imposition 
to  call  sailing  about  this  pond  going  to  sea." 

"Jasper  is  every  way  able  to  manage  the  Scud,  brother 
Cap;  and  in  that  light  I  cannot  say  that  we  have  need  of 
your  services,  though  we  shall  be  glad  of  your  company. 
You  cannot  return  to  the  settlement  until  a  party  is  sent 
in,  and  that  is  not  likely  to  happen  until  after  my  retura. 
Well,  Pathfinder,  this  is  the  first  time  I  ever  knew  men 
on  the  trail  of  the  Mingoes  and  you  not  at  their  head." 

"To  be  honest  with  you,  sergeant,"  returned  the  guide, 
not  without  a  little  awkwardness  of  manner,  and  a  per 
ceptible  difference  in  the  hue  of  a  face  that  had  become 
so  uniformly  red  by  exposure,  "I  have  not  felt  that  it 
was  my  gift  this  morning.  In  the  first  place,  I  very  well 
know  that  the  soldiers  of  the  55th  are  not  the  lads  to 
overtake  Iroquois  in  the  woods;  and  the  knaves  did  not 
wait  to  be  surrounded  when  they  knew  that  Jasper  had 
reached  the  garrison.  Then  a  man  may  take  a  little  rest 
after  a  summer  of  hard  work,  and  no  impeachment  of  his 
good-will.  Besides,  the  Sarpent  is  out  with  them;  and 
if  the  miscreants  are  to  be  found  at  all,  you  may  trust  to 
his  inmity  and  sight:  the  first  being  stronger,  and  the 
last  nearly,  if  not  quite,  as  good  as  my  own.  He  loves 
the  skulking  vagabonds  as  little  as  myself;  and,  for  that 
matter,  I  may  say  that  my  own  feelings  towards  a  Mingo 


THE  PATHFINDER  117 

are  not  much  more  than  the  gifts  of  a  Delaware  grafted 
on  a  Christian  stock.  No,  no;  I  thought  I  would  leave 
the  honor  this  time,  if  honor  there  is  to  be,  to  the  young 
ensign  that  commands,  who,  if  he  don't  lose  his  scalp, 
may  boast  of  his  campaign  in  his  letters  to  his  mother, 
when  he  gets  in.  I  thought  I  would  play  idler  once  in 
my  life." 

"And  no  one  has  a  better  right,  if  long  and  faithful 
service  entitles  a  man  to  a  furlough,"  returned  the  ser 
geant  kindly.  "Mabel  will  think  none  the  worse  of  you 
for  prefering  her  company  to  the  trail  of  the  savages; 
and,  I  daresay,  will  be  happy  to  give  you  a  part  of  her 
breakfast  if  you  are  inclined  to  eat.  You  must  not  think, 
girl,  however,  that  the  Pathfinder  is  in  the  habit  of  letting 
prowlers  around  the  fort  beat  a  retreat  without  hearing 
the  crack  of  his  rifle." 

"If  I  thought  she  did,  sergeant,  though  not  much  given 
to  showy  and  parade  evolutions,  I  would  shoulder  Killdeer 
and  quit  the  garrison  before  her  pretty  eyes  had  time  to 
frown.  No,  no;  Mabel  knows  me  better,  though  we  are 
but  new  acquaintances,  for  there  has  been  no  want  of 
Mingoes  to  enliven  the  short  march  we  have  already  made 
in  company." 

"It  would  need  a  great  deal  of  testimony,  Pathfinder, 
to  make  me  think  ill  of  you  in  any  way,  and  more  than 
all  in  the  way  you  mention,"  returned  Mabel,  coloring 
with  the  sincere  earnestness  with'which  she  endeavored  to 
remove  any  suspicion  to  the  contrary  from  his  mind. 
"Both  father  and  daughter,  I  believe,  owe  you  their 
lives,  and  believe  me,  that  neither  will  ever  forget  it." 

"Thank  you,  Mabel,  thank  you  with  all  my  heart.  But 
I  will  not  take  advantage  of  your  ignorance  neither,  girl, 
and  therefore  shall  say,  I  do  not  think  the  Mingoes  would' 
have  hurt  a  hair  of  your  head,  had  they  succeeded  by  their 
deviltries  and  contrivances  in  getting  you  into  their  hands. 
My  scalp,  and  Jasper's,  and  Master  Cap's  there,  and  the 
Sarpent's  too,  would  sartainly  have  been  smoked;  but  as 
for  the  sergeant's  daughter,  I  do  not  think  they  would 
have  hurt  a  hair  of  her  head." 

"And  why  should   I  suppose  that  enemies,  known  t 
spare  neither  women  nor  children,  would   have  shown 


118  THE  PATHFINDER 

more  mercy  to  me  than  to  another?     I  feel,  Pathfinder, 
that  I  owe  you  my  life." 

"I  say  nay,  Mabel;  they  wouldn't  have  had  the  heart  to 
hurt  you.  No,  not  even  a  fiery  Mingo  devil  would  have 
had  the  heart  to  hurt  a  hair  of  your  head.  Bad  as  I  sus 
pect  the  vampires  to  be,  I  do  not  suspect  them  of  anything 
so  wicked  as  that.  They  might  have  wished  you,  nay, 
forced  you  to  become  the  wife  of  one  of  their  chiefs,  and 
that  would  be  torment  enough  to  a  Christian  young 
woman;  but  beyond  that  I  do  not  think  even  the  Mingoes 
themselves  would  have  gone. ' ' 

"Well,  then,  I  shall  owe  my  escape  from  this  great 
misfortune  to  you,"  said  Mabel,  taking  his  hard  hand 
into  her  own  frankly  and  cordially,  and  certainly  in  a  way 
to  delight  the  honest  guide.  "To  me  it  would  be  a  lighter 
evil  to  be  killed  than  to  become  the  wife  of  an  Indian." 

"That  is  her  gift,  sergeant,"  exclaimed  Pathfinder, 
turning  to  his  old  comrade  with  gratification  written  on 
every  lineament  of  his  honest  countenance,  "and  it  will 
have  its  way.  I  tell  the  Sarpent  that  no  Christianizing 
will  ever  make  even  a  Delaware  a  white  man;  nor  any 
whooping  and  yelling  convert  a  pale  face  into  a  red-skin. 
That  is  the  gift  of  a  young  woman  born  of  Christian 
parents,  and  it  ought  to  be  maintained." 

"You  are  right,  Pathfinder;  and  so  far  as  Mabel  Dun 
ham  is  concerned,  it  shall  be  maintained.  But  it  is  time 
to  break  your  fasts;  and  if  you  will  follow  me,  brother 
Cap,  I  will  show  you  how  we  poor  soldiers  live  here  on  a 
distant  frontier. ' ' 


CHAPTER  IX 

"  Now,  my  co-mates  and  partners  in  exile, 
Hath  not  old  custom  made  this  life  more  sweet 
Than  that  of  painted  pomp  ?    Are  not  these  woods 
More  free  from  peril  than  the  envious  court  ? 
Here  feel  we  but  the  penalty  of  Adam." 

—As  You  LIKE  IT. 

SERGEANT  DUNHAM  made  no  empty  vaunt  when  he  gave 
the  promise  conveyed  in  the  closing  words  of  the  last 
chapter.  Notwithstanding  the  remote  frontier  position 
of  the  post,  they  who  lived  at  it  enjoyed  a  table  that,  in 
many  respects,  kings  and  princes  might  have  envied.  At 
the  period  of  our  tale,  and,  indeed,  for  half  a  century 
later,  the  whole  of  that  vast  region  which  has  been  called 
the  west,  or  the  new  countries  since  the  war  of  the  revolu 
tion,  lay  a  comparatively  unpeopled  desert,  teeming  with 
all  the  living  productions  of  nature  that  properly  belonged 
to  the  climate,  man  and  the  domestic  animals  excepted. 
The  few  Indians  that  roamed  its  forests  then  could  produce 
no  visible  effects  on  the  abundance  of  the  game;  and  the 
scattered  garrisons,  or  occasional  hunters,  that  here  and 
there  were  to  be  met  with  on  that  vast  surface,  had  no 
other  influence  than  the  bee  on  the  buckwheat  field,  or 
the  humming-bird  on  the  flower. 

The  marvels  that  have  descended  to  our  own  times,  in 
the  way  of  tradition,  concerning  the  quantities  of  beasts, 
birds,  and  fishes  that  were  then  to  be  met  with,  on  the 
shores  of  the  great  lakes  in  particular,  are  known  to  be 
sustained  by  the  experience  of  living  men,  else  might  we 
hesitate  about  relating  them;  but  having  been  eye-wit 
nesses  of  some  of  these  prodigies,  our  office  shall  be  dis 
charged  with  the  confidence  that  certainty  can  impart. 
Oswego  was  particularly  well  placed  to  keep  the  larder  of 
an  epicure  amply  supplied.  Fish  of  various  sorts  abounded 
in  its  river,  and  the  sportsman  had  only  to  cast  his  line 
to  haul  in  a  bass  or  some  other  member  of  the  finny  tribe, 
which  then  peopled  the  waters,  as  the  air  above  the  swamps 

119 


120  THE  PATHFINDER 

of  this  fruitful  latitude  are  known  to  be  filled  with  insects. 
Among  others  was  the  salmon  of  the  lakes,  a  variety  of 
that  well-known  species,  that  is  scarcely  inferior  to  the 
delicious  salmon  of  northern  Europe.  Of  the  different 
migratory  birds  that  frequent  forests  and  waters,  there 
was  the  same  affluence,  hundreds  of  acres  of  geese  and 
ducks  being  often  seen  at  a  time  in  the  great  bays  that 
indent  the  shores  of  the  lake.  Deer,  bears,  rabbits,  and 
squirrels,  with  divers  other  quadrupeds,  among  which 
was  sometimes  included  the  elk,  or  moose,  helped  to  com 
plete  the  sum  of  the  natural  supplies  on  which  all  the 
posts  depended,  more  or  less,  to  relieve  the  unavoidable 
privations  of  their  remote  frontier  positions. 

In  a  place  where  viands  that  would  elsewhere  be  deemed 
great  luxuries  were  so  abundant,  no  one  was  excluded 
from  their  enjoyment.  The  meanest  individual  atOswego 
habitually  feasted  on  game  that  would  have  formed  the 
boast  of  a  Parisian  table;  and  it  was  no  more  than  a 
healthful  commentary  on  the  caprices  of  taste,  and  of  the 
waywardness  of  human  desires,  that  the  very  diet  which 
in  other  scenes  would  have  been  deemed  the  subject  of 
envy  and  repinings  got  to  pall  on  the  appetite.  The 
coarse  and  regular  food  of  the  army,  which  it  became 
necessary  to  husband  on  account  of  the  difficulty  of  trans 
portation,  rose  in  the  estimation  of  the  common  soldier; 
and  at  any  time  he  would  cheerfully  desert  his  venison, 
and  ducks,  and  pigeons,  and  salmon,  to  banquet  on  the 
sweets  of  pickled  pork,  stringy  turnips,  and  half-cooked 
cabbage. 

The  table  of  Sergeant  Dunham,  as  a  matter  of  course, 
partook  of  the  abundance  and  luxuries  of  the  frontier,  as 
well  as  of  its  privations.  A  delicious  broiled  salmon 
smoked  on  a  homely  platter,  hot  venison  steaks  sent  up 
their  appetizing  odors,  and  several  dishes  of  cold  meats, 
all  of  which  were  composed  of  game,  had  been  set  before 
the  guests,  in  honor  of  the  newly  arrived  visitors,  and  in 
vindication  of  the  old  soldier's  hospitality. 

"You  do  not  seem  to  be  on  short  allowance  in  this 
quarter  of  the  world,  sergeant,"  said  Cap,  aftex  he  had 
got  fairly  initiated  into  the  mysteries  of  the  different 
dishes;  "your  salmon  might  satisfy  a  Scotsman." 


THE  PATHFINDER  121 

"It  fails  to  do  it,  notwithstanding,  brother  Cap;  for 
among  two  or  three  hundred  of  the  fellows  that  we  have 
in  this  garrison,  there  are  not  half  a  dozen  who  will  not 
swear  that  the  fish  is  unfit  to  be  eaten.  Even  some  of  the 
lads,  who  never  tasted  venison  except  as  poachers  at  home, 
turn  up  their  noses  at  the  fattest  haunches  that  we  get 
here." 

"Ay,  that  is  Christian  natur',"  put  in  Pathfinder;  "and 
I  must  say  it  is  none  to  its  credit.  Now  a  red-skin  never 
repines,  but  is  always  thankful  for  the  food  he  gets, 
whether  it  be  fat  or  lean,  venison  or  bear,  wild  turkey's 
breast  or  wild  goose's  wing.  To  the  shame  of  us  white 
men  be  it  said,  that  we  look  upon  blessings  without  satis 
faction,  and  consider  trifling  evils  as  matters  of  great 
account. ' ' 

"It  is  so  with  the  55th,  as  I  can  answer,  though  I  can 
not  say  as  much  for  their  Christianity,"  returned  the 
sergeant.  "Even  the  major  himself,  old  Duncan  of  Lun- 
die,  will  sometimes  swear  that  an  oatmeal  cake  is  better 
fare  than  the  Oswego  bass,  and  sigh  for  a  swallow  of 
Highland  water,  when,  if  so  minded,  he  has  the  whole  of 
Ontario  to  quench  his  thirst  in." 

"Has  Major  Duncan  a  wife  and  children?"  asked  Mabel, 
whose  thoughts  naturally  turned  towards  her  own  sex  in 
her  new  situation. 

"Not  he,  girl;  though  they  do  say  that  he  has  a  be 
trothed  at  home.  The  lady,  it  seems,  is  willing  to  wait, 
rather  than  suffer  the  hardships  of  service  in  this  wild 
region;  all  of  which,  brother  Cap,  is  not  according  to  my 
notions  of  a  woman's  duties.  Your  sister  thought  dif 
ferently.  ' ' 

"I  hope,  sergeant,  you  do  not  think  of  Mabel  for  a 
soldier's  wife,"  returned  Cap  gravely.  "Our  family  has 
done  its  share  in  that  way  already,  and  it's  high  time 
that  the  sea  was  again  remembered." 

"I  do  not  think  of  finding  a  husband  for  the  girl  in  the 
55th,  or  any  other  regiment,  I  can  promise  you,  brother; 
though  I  do  think  it  getting  to  be  time  that  the  child 
were  respectably  married." 

"Father!" 

"  'Tis  not  their  gifts,  sergeant,  to  talk  of  these  matters 


122  THE  PATHFINDER 

in  so  open  a  manner,"  said  the  guide;  "for  I've  seen  it 
verified  by  experience,  that  he  who  would  follow  the  trail 
of  a  virgin's  good-will  must  not  go  shouting  out  his 
thoughts  behind  her.  So,  if  you  please,  we  will  talk  of 
something  else." 

"Well,  then,  brother  Cap,  I  hope  that  bit  of  a  cold 
roasted  pig  is  to  your  mind;  you  seem  to  fancy  the 
food." 

"Ay,  ay;  give  me  civilized  grub  if  I  must  eat,"  re 
turned  the  pertinacious  seaman.  "Venison  is  well  enough 
for  your  inland  sailors,  but  we  of  the  ocean  like  a  little 
of  that  which  we  understand." 

Here  Pathfinder  laid  down  his  knife  and  fork,  and  in 
dulged  in  a  hearty  laugh,  though  in  his  always  silent  man 
ner;  then  he  asked,  with  a  little  curiosity  in  his  manner: 

"Don't  you  miss  the  skin,  Master  Cap?  don't  you  miss 
the  skin?" 

"It  would  have  been  better  for  its  jacket,  I  think  my 
self,  Pathfinder;  but  I  suppose  it  is  a  fashion  of  the  woods 
to  serve  up  shoats  in  this  style." 

"Well,  well,  a  man  may  go  round  the  'arth  and  not 
know  everything.  If  you  had  had  the  skinning  of  that 
pig,  Master  Cap,  it  would  have  left  you  sore  hands.  The 
cratur'  is  a  hedgehog!" 

"Blast  me,  if  I  thought  it  wholesome  natural  pork 
either!"  returned  Cap.  "But  then  I  believed  even  a  pig 
might  lose  some  of  its  good  qualities  up  hereaway  in  the 
woods. ' ' 

"If  the  skinning  of  it,  brother,  does  not  fall  to  my 
duty.  Pathfinder,  I  hope  you  didn't  find  Mabel  disobedi 
ent  on  the  march?" 

"Not  she,  not  she.  If  Mabel  is  only  half  as  well  satisfied 
with  Jasper  and  Pathfinder  as  the  Pathfinder  and  Jasper 
are  satisfied  with  her,  sergeant,  we  shall  be  friends  for 
the  remainder  of  our  days. ' ' 

As  the  guide  spoke,  he  turned  his  eyes  towards  the 
blushing  girl,  with  a  sort  of  innocent  desire  to  know  her 
opinion;  and  then,  with  an  inborn  delicacy,  which  proved 
he  was  far  superior  to  the  vulgar  desire  to  invade  the 
sanctity  of  feminine  feeling,  he  looked  at  his  plate,  and 
seemed  to  regret  his  own  boldness. 


THE  PATHFINDER  123 

"Well,  well,  we  must  remember  that  women  are  not 
men,  my  friend,"  resumed  the  sergeant,  "and  make 
proper  allowances  for  nature  and  education.  A  recruit  is 
not  a  veteran.  Any  man  knows  that  it  takes  longer  to 
make  a  good  soldier  than  it  takes  to  make  anything  else. " 

"This  is  new  doctrine,  sergeant,"  said  Cap,  with  some 
spirit.  '  'We  old  seamen  are  apt  to  think  that  six  soldiers, 
ay,  and  capital  soldiers,  too,  might  be  made  while  one 
sailor  is  getting  his  education." 

"Ay,  brother  Cap,  I've  seen  something  of  the  opinions 
which  seafaring  men  have  of  themselves, "  returned  the 
brother-in-law,  with  a  smile  as  bland  as  comported  with 
his  sarturine  features;  "for  I  was  many  years  one  of  the 
garrison  in  a  seaport.  You  and  I  have  conversed  on  the 
subject  before,  and  I'm  afraid  we  shall  never  agree.  But 
if  you  wish  to  know  what  the  difference  is  between  a  real 
soldier  and  man  in  what  I  call  a  state  of  nature,  you  have 
only  to  look  at  a  battalion  of  the  55th  on  parade  this 
afternoon,  and  then,  when  you  get  back  to  York,  examine 
one  of  the  militia  regiments  making  its  greatest  efforts." 

"Well,  to  my  eye,  sergeant,  there  is  very  little  differ 
ence,  not  more  than  you '11  find  between  a  brig  and  a  snow. 
To  me  they  seem  alike;  all  scarlet,  and  feathers,  and 
powder,  and  pipeclay." 

"So  much,  sir,  for  the  judgment  of  a  sailor,"  returned 
the  sergeant  with  dignity;  "but  perhaps  you  are  not 
aware  that  it  requires  a  year  to  teach  a  true  soldier  how 
to  eat?" 

"So  much  the  worse  for  him.  The  militia  know  how 
to  eat  at  starting;  for  I  have  often  heard  that,  on  their 
marches,  they  commonly  eat  all  before  them,  even  if  they 
do  nothing  else. ' ' 

"They  have  their  gifts,  I  suppose,  like  other  men," 
observed  Pathfinder,  with  a  view  to  preserve  the  peace, 
which  was  evidently  in  some  danger  of  being  broken  by 
the  obstinate  predilection  of  each  of  the  disputants  in 
favor  of  his  own  calling;  "and  when  a  man  has  his  gift 
from  Providence,  it  is  commonly  idle  to  endeavor  to  bear 
up  against  it.  The  55th,  sergeant,  is  a  judicious  regi 
ment  in  the  way  of  eating,  as  I  know  from  having  been 
so  long  in  its  company,  though  I  daresay  militia  corps 


124  THE  PATHFINDER 

could  be  found  that  would  outdo  them  in  feats  of  that 
natur',  too." 

"Uncle,"  said  Mabel,  "if  you  have  breakfasted,  I  will 
thank  you  to  go  out  upon  the  bastion  with  me  again.  We 
have  neither  of  us  half  seen  the  lake,  and  it  would  be 
hardly  seemly  for  a  young  woman  to  be  walking  about  the 
fort,  the  first  day  of  her  arrival,  quite  alone." 

Cap  understood  the  motive  of  Mabel;  and  having,  at 
the  bottom,  a  hearty  friendship  for  his  brother-in-law,  he 
was  willing  enough  to  defer  the  argument  until  they  had 
been  longer  together,  for  the  idea  of  abandoning  it  alto 
gether  never  crossed  the  mind  of  one  so  dogmatical  and 
obstinate.  He  accordingly  accompanied  his  niece,  leaving 
Sergeant  Dunham  and  his  friend,  the  Pathfinder,  alone 
together.  As  soon  as  his  adversary  had  beat  a  retreat, 
the  sergeant,  who  did  not  quite  so  well  understand  the 
maneuver  of  his  daughter,  turned  to  his  companion,  and, 
with  a  smile  which  was  not  without  triumph,  he  remarked: 

"The  army,  Pathfinder,  has  never  yet  done  itself  justice 
in  the  way  of  asserting  its  rights;  and  though  modesty 
becomes  a  man,  whether  he  is  in  a  red  coat  or  a  black 
one,  or,  for  that  matter,  in  his  shirt-sleeves,  I  don't  like 
to  let  a  good  opportunity  slip  of  saying  a  word  in  its 
behalf.  Well,  my  friend,"  laying  his  own  hand  on  one 
of  the  Pathfinder's  and  giving  it  a  hearty  squeeze,  "how 
do  you  like  the  girl?" 

"You  have  reason  to  be  proud  of  her,  sergeant.  I  have 
seen  many  of  her  sex,  and  some  that  were  great  and  beau 
tiful  ;  but  never  before  did  I  meet  with  one  in  whom  I 
thought  Providence  had  so  well  balanced  the  different 
gifts." 

"And  the  good  opinion,  I  can  tell  you,  Pathfinder,  is 
mutual.  She  told  me  last  night  all  about  your  coolness, 
and  spirit,  and  kindness — particularly  the  last,  for  kind 
ness  counts  for  more  than  half  with  females,  my  friend — 
and  the  first  inspection  seems  to  give  satisfaction  on  both 
sides.  Brush  up  the  uniform,  and  pay  a  little  more  at 
tention  to  the  outside,  Pathfinder,  and  you  will  have  the 
girl  heart  and  hand." 

"Nay,  nay,  sergeant,  I've  forgotten  nothing  that  you 
have  told  me,  and  grudge  no  reasonable  pains  to  make 


THE  PATHFINDER  125 

myself  as  pleasant  in  the  eyes  of  Mabel  as  she  is  getting 
to  be  in  mine.  I  cleaned  and  brightened  up  Killdeer  this 
morning  as  soon  as  the  sun  rose;  and,  in  my  judgment 
the  piece  never  looked  better  than  it  does  at  this  very 
moment. ' ' 

"That  is  accord  ing  to  your  hunting  notions,  Pathfinder; 
but  firearms  should  sparkle  and  glitter  in  the  sun,  and  I 
never  yet  could  see  any  beauty  in  a  clouded  barrel." 

"Lord  Howe  thought  otherwise,  sergeant;  and  he  was 
accounted  a  good  soldier." 

"Very  true;  his  lordship  had  all  the  barrels  of  his  regi 
ment  darkened,  and  what  good  came  of  it?  You  can  see 
his  'scutcheon  hanging  in  the  English  church  at  Albany. 
No,  no,  my  worthy  friend,  a  soldier  should  be  a  soldier, 
and  at  no  time  ought  he  to  be  ashamed  or  afraid  to  carry 
about  him  the  signs  and  symbols  of  his  honorable  trade. 
Had  you  much  discourse  with  Mabel,  Pathfinder,  as  you 
came  along  in  the  canoe?" 

"There  was  not  much  opportunity,  sergeant,  and  then 
I  found  myself  so  much  beneath  her  in  idees,  that  I  was 
afraid  to  speak  of  much  beyond  what  belonged  to  my 
own  gifts." 

"Therein  you  are  partly  right  and  partly  wrong,  my 
friend.  Women  love  trifling  discourse,  though  they  like 
to  have  most  of  it  to  themselves.  Now  you  know  I'm  a 
man  that  do  not  loosen  my  tongue  at  every  giddy  thought; 
and  yet  there  were  days  when  I  could  see  that  Mabel's 
mother  thought  none  the  worse  of  me  because  I  descended 
a  little  from  my  manhood.  It  is  true,  I  was  twenty-two 
years  younger  then  than  I  am  to-day;  and,  moreover,  in 
stead  of  being  the  oldest  sergeant  in  the  regiment,  I  was 
the  youngest.  Dignity  is  commanding  and  useful,  and 
there  is  no  getting  on  without  it,  as  respects  the  men; 
but  if  you  would  be  thoroughly  esteemed  by  a  woman,  it 
is  necessary  to  condescend  a  little  on  occasions." 

"Ah's  me,  sergeant,  I  sometimes  fear  it  will  never  do." 

"Why  do  you  think  so  discouragingly  of  a  matter  on 
which  I  thought  both  our  minds  were  made  up?" 

"We  did  agree,  if  Mabel  should  prove  what  you  told 
me  she  was,  and  if  the  girl  could  fancy  a  rude  hunter  and 
guide,  that  I  should  quit  some  of  my  wandering  ways, 


126  THE  PATHFINDER 

and  try  to  humanize  my  mind  down  to  a  wife  and  children. 
But  since  I  have  seen  the  girl,  I  will  own  that  many 
misgivings  have  come  over  me." 

"How's  this?"  interrupted  the  sergeant  sternly;  "did 
I  not  understand  you  to  say  that  you  were  pleased?  and 
is  Mabel  a  young  woman  to  disappoint  expectation?" 

"Ah,  sergeant,  it  is  not  Mabel  that  I  distrust,  but  my 
self.  I  am  but  a  poor  ignorant  woodsman,  after  all ;  and 
perhaps  I'm  not,  in  truth,  as  good  as  even  you  and  I  may 
think  me." 

"If  you  doubt  your  own  judgment  of  yourself ,  Path 
finder,  I  beg  you  will  not  doubt  mine.  Am  I  not  accus 
tomed  to  judge  men's  character?  and  am  I  of  ten  deceived? 
Ask  Major  Duncan,  sir,  if  you  desire  any  assurances  in 
this  particular." 

"But,  sergeant,  we  have  long  been  friends;  have  fi't 
side  by  side  a  dozen  times,  and  have  done  each  other 
many  services.  When  this  is  the  case,  men  are  apt  to 
think  over  kindly  of  each  other;  and  I  fear  me  that  the 
daughter  may  not  be  so  likely  to  view  a  plain  ignorant 
hunter  as  favorably  as  the  father  does. ' ' 

"Tut,  tut,  Pathfinder!  you  don't  know  yourself ,  man, 
and  may  put  all  faith  in  my  judgment.  In  the  first  place 
you  have  experience;  and,  as  all  girls  must  want  that,  no 
prudent  young  woman  would  overlook  such  a  qualifica 
tion.  Then  you  are  not  one  of  the  coxcombs  that  strut 
about  when  they  first  join  a  regiment;  but  a  man  who 
has  seen  service,  and  who  carries  the  marks  of  it  on  his 
person  and  countenance.  I  daresay  you  have  been  under 
fire  some  thirty  or  forty  times,  counting  all  the  skirmishes 
and  ambushes  that  you've  seen." 

"All  of  that,  sergeant,  all  of  that;  but  what  will  it 
avail  in  gaining  the  good-will  of  a  tender-hearted  young 
female?" 

"It  will  gain  the  day.  Experience  in  the  field  is  as 
good  in  love  as  in  war.  But  you  are  as  honest-hearted 
and  as  loyal  a  subject  as  the  king  can  boast  of — God  bless 
him!" 

"That  may  be,  too;  but  I'm  af eared  I'm  too  rude  and 
too  old  and  too  wild  like  to  suit  the  fancy  of  such  a  young 
and  delicate  girl  as  Mabel,  who  has  been  unused  to  our 


THE  PATHFINDER  127 

wilderness  ways,  and  may  think  the  settlements  better 
suited  to  her  gifts  and  inclinations." 

"These  are  new  misgivings  for  you,  my  friend;  and  I 
wonder  they  were  never  paraded  before. ' ' 

"Because  I  never  knew  my  own  worthlessness,  perhaps, 
until  I  saw  Mabel.  I  have  traveled  with  some  as  fair, 
and  have  guided  them  through  the  forest,  and  seen  them 
in  their  perils  and  in  their  gladness;  but  they  were  always 
too  much  above  me  to  make  me  think  of  them  as  more 
than  so  many  feeble  ones  I  was  bound  to  protect  and 
defend.  The  case  is  now  different.  Mabel  and  I  are  so 
nearly  alike,  that  I  feel  weighed  down  with  a  load  that  is 
hard  to  bear,  at  finding  us  so  unlike.  I  do  wish,  sergeant, 
that  I  was  ten  years  younger,  more  comely  to  look  at,  and 
better  suited  to  please  a  handsome  young  woman's  fancy. ' ' 

"Cheer  up,  my  brave  friend,  and  trust  to  a  father's 
knowledge  of  womankind.  Mabel  half  loves  you  already, 
and  a  fortnight's  intercourse  and  kindness,  down  among 
the  islands  yonder,  will  close  ranks  with  the  other  half. 
The  girl  as  much  as  told  me  this  herself  last  night." 

"Can  this  be  so,  sergeant?"  said  the  guide,  whose  meek 
and  modest  nature  shrank  from  viewing  himself  in  colors 
so  favorable.  "Can  this  be  truly  so?  I  am  but  a  poor 
hunter,  and  Mabel,  I  see,  is  fit  to  be  an  officer's  lady.  Do 
you  think  the  girl  will  consent  to  quit  all  her  beloved  set 
tlement  usages,  and  her  visitings  and  church-goings,  to 
dwell  with  a  plain  guide  and  hunter  up  hereaway  in  the 
woods?  Will  she  not  in  the  end  crave  her  old  ways  and 
a  better  man?" 

"A  better  man,  Pathfinder,  would  be  hard  to  find,"  re 
turned  the  father.  "As  for  town  usages,  they  are  soon 
forgotten  in  the  freedom  of  the  forest,  and  Mabel  has  just 
enough  to  dwell  on  a  frontier.  I've  not  planned  this  mar 
riage,  my  friend,  without  thinking  it  over,  as  a  general 
does  his  campaign.  At  first,  I  thought  of  bringing  you 
into  the  regiment,  that  you  might  succeed  me  when  I 
retire,  which  must  be  sooner  or  later;  but  on  reflection, 
Pathfinder,  I  think  you  are  scarcely  fitted  for  the  office. 
Still,  if  not  a  soldier  in  all  the  meanings  of  the  word,  you 
are  a  soldier  in  its  best  meaning,  and  I  know  that  you  have 
the  good-will  of  every  officer  in  the  corps.  As  long  as  I 


128  THE  PATHFINDER 

live,  Mabel  can  dwell  with  me,  and  you  will  always  have  a 
home  when  you  return  from  your  scoutings  and  marches. ' ' 

"This  is  very  pleasant  to  think  of,  sergeant,  if  the  girl 
can  only  come  into  our  wishes  with  good-will.  But,  ah's 
me !  it  does  not  seem  that  one  like  myself  can  ever  be  agree 
able  in  her  handsome  eyes.  If  I  were  younger,  and  more 
comely,  now  as  Jasper  Western  is,  for  instance,  there  might 
be  a  chance — yes,  then,  indeed,  there  might  be  some 
chance. ' ' 

"That  for  Jasper  Eau-douce,  and  every  younker  of  them 
in  or  about  the  fort!"  returned  the  sergeant,  snapping  his 
fingers.  "If  not  actually  a  younger,  you  are  a  younger- 
looking,  ay,  and  better-looking  man  than  the  Scud's 
master. ' ' 

"Anan?"  said  Pathfinder,  looking  up  at  his  companion 
with  an  expression  of  doubt,  as  if  he  did  not  understand 
his  meaning. 

"I  say  if  not  actually  younger  in  days  and  years,  you 
look  more  hardy  and  like  whipcord  than  Jasper,  or  any 
of  them;  and  there  will  be  more  of  you,  thirty  years 
hence,  than  of  all  of  them  put  together.  A  good  con 
science  will  keep  one  like  you  a  mere  boy  all  his  life." 

"Jasper  has  as  clear  a  conscience  as  any  youth  I  know, 
sergeant,  and  is  as  likely  to  wear  on  that  account  as  any 
young  man  in  the  colony." 

"Then  you  are  my  friend,"  squeezing  the  other's  hand, 
"my  tried,  sworn,  and  constant  friend." 

"Yes,  we  have  been  friends,  sergeant,  near  twenty 
years  before  Mabel  was  born." 

"True  enough;  before  Mabel  was  born,  we  were  well- 
tried  friends;  and  the  hussy  would  never  dream  of 
refusing  to  marry  a  man  who  was  her  father's  friend 
before  she  was  born. ' ' 

"We  don't  know,  sergeant,  we  don't  know.  Like  loves 
like.  The  young  prefer  the  young  for  companions,  and 
the  old  the  old." 

"Not  for  wives,  Pathfinder;  I  never  knew  an  old  man, 
now,  who  had  an  objection  to  a  young  wife.  Then  you 
are  respected  and  esteemed  by  every  officer  in  the  fort,  as 
I  have  said  already,  and  It  will  please  her  fancy  to  like  a 
man  that  every  one  else  likes." 


THE  PATHFINDER  129 

"I  hope  I  have  no  enemies  but  the  Mingoes,"  returned 
the  guide,  stroking  down  his  hair  meekly,  and  speaking 
thoughtfully.  ''I've  tried  to  do  right,  and  that  ought  to 
make  friends,  though  it  sometimes  fails." 

"And  you  may  be  said  to  keep  the  best  company;  for 
even  old  Duncan  of  Lundie  is  glad  to  see  you,  and  you 
pass  hours  in  his  society.  Of  all  the  guides,  he  confides 
most  in  you. ' ' 

"Ay,  even  greater  than  he  is  have  marched  by  my  side 
for  days,  and  have  conversed  with  me  as  if  I  were  their 
brother;  but,  sergeant,  I  have  never  been  puffed  up  by 
their  company,  for  I  know  that  the  woods  often  bring 
men  to  a  level  who  would  not  be  so  in  the  settlements. ' ' 

"And  you  are  known  to  be  the  greatest  rifle  shot  that 
ever  pulled  trigger  in  all  this  region." 

"If  Mabel  could  fancy  a  man  for  that,  I  might  have  no 
great  reason  to  despair;  and  yet,  sergeant,  I  sometimes 
think  that  it  is  all  as  much  owing  to  Killdeer  as  to  any 
skill  of  my  own.  It  is  sartainly  a  wonderful  piece,  and 
might  do  as  much  in  the  hands  of  another." 

"That  is  your  own  humble  opinion  of  yourself,  Path 
finder;  but  we  have  seen  too  many  fail  with  the  same 
weapon,  and  you  succeed  too  often  with  the  rifles  of  other 
men,  to  allow  me  to  agree  with  you.  We  will  get  up  a 
shooting  match  in  a  day  or  two,  when  you  can  show  your 
skill,  and  when  Mabel  will  form  some  judgment  concern 
ing  your  true  character." 

"Will  that  be  fair,  sergeant?  Everybody  knows  that 
Killdeer  seldom  misses;  and  ought  we  to  make  a  trail  of 
this  sort  when  we  all  know  what  must  be  the  result?" 

"Tut,  tut,  man!  I  foresee  I  must  do  half  this  courting 
for  you.  For  one  who  is  always  inside  of  the  smoke  in  a 
skirmish,  you  are  the  faintest-hearted  suitor  I  ever  met 
with.  Remember,  Mabel  comes  of  a  bold  stock;  and  the 
girl  will  be  as  likely  to  admire  a  man  as  her  mother  was 
before  her." 

Here  the  sergeant  arose,  and  proceeded  to  attend  to 
his  never-ceasing  duties,  without  apology;  the  terms  on 
which  the  guide  stood  with  all  in  the  garrison  rendering 
this  freedom  quite  a  matter  of  course. 

The  reader  will  have  gathered  from  the  conversation 
9 


130  THE  PATHFINDER 

just  related,  one  of  the  plans  that  Sergeant  Dunham  had 
in  view  in  causing  his  daughter  to  be  brought  to  the 
frontier.  Although  necessarily  much  weaned  from  the 
caresses  and  blandishments  that  had  rendered  his  child  so 
dear  to  him  during  the  first  year  or  two  of  his  widower- 
hood,  he  had  still  a  strong  but  somewhat  latent  love  for 
her.  Accustomed  to  command  and  to  obey,  without  being 
questioned  himself  or  questioning  others,  concerning  the 
reasonableness  of  the  mandates,  he  was  perhaps  too  much 
disposed  to  believe  that  his  daughter  would  marry  the 
man  he  might  select,  while  he  was  far  from  being  dis 
posed  to  do  violence  to  her  wishes.  The  fact  was,  few 
knew  the  Pathfinder  intimately  without  secretly  believing 
him  to  be  one  of  extraordinary  qualities.  Ever  the  same, 
simple-minded,  faithful,  utterly  without  fear,  and  yet 
prudent,  foremost  in  all  warrantable  enterprises,  or  what 
the  opinion  of  the  day  considered  as  such,  and  never  en 
gaged  in  anything  to  call  a  blush  to  his  cheek  or  censure 
on  his  acts,  it  was  not  possible  to  live  much  with  this 
being  and  not  feel  a  respect  and  admiration  for  him  which 
had  no  reference  to  his  position  in  life.  The  most  sur 
prising  peculiarity  about  the  man  himself  was  the  entire 
indifference  with  which  he  regarded  all  distinctions  which 
did  not  depend  on  personal  merit.  He  was  respectful  to 
his  superiors  from  habit;  but  had  often  been  known  to 
correct  their  mistakes  and  to  reprove  their  vices  with  a 
fearlessness  that  proved  how  essentially  he  regarded  the 
more  material  points,  and  with  a  natural  discrimination 
that  appeared  to  set  education  at  defiance.  In  short,  a 
disbeliever  in  the  ability  of  man  to  distinguish  between 
good  and  evil  without  the  aid  of  instruction,  would  have 
been  staggered  by  the  character  of  this  extraordinary  in 
habitant  of  the  frontier.  His  feelings  appeared  to  possess 
the  freshness  and  nature  of  the  forest  in  which  he  passed 
so  much  of  his  time;  and  no  casuist  could  have  made 
clearer  decisions  in  matters  relating  to  right  and  wrong; 
and  yet  he  was  not  without  his  prejudices,  which,  though 
few,  and  colored  by  the  character  and  usages  of  the  in 
dividual,  were  deep-rooted,  and  almost  formed  a  part  of 
his  nature.  But  the  most  striking  feature  about  the 
moral  organization  of  Pathfinder  was  his  beautiful  and 


THE  PATHFINDER  131 

unerring  sense  of  justice.  This  noble  trait— and  without 
it  no  man  can  be  truly  great,  with  it  no  man  other  than 
respectable— probably  had  its  unseen  influence  on  all  who 
associated  with  him;  for  the  common  and  unprincipled 
brawler  of  the  camp  had  been  known  to  return  from  an 
expedition  made  in  his  company  rebuked  by  his  senti 
ments,  softened  by  his  language,  and  improved  by  his 
example.  As  might  have  been  expected,  with  so  elevated 
a  quality  his  fidelity  was  like  the  immovable  rock;  treach 
ery  in  him  was  classed  among  the  things  which  are  im 
possible;  and  as  he  seldom  retired  before  his  enemies,  so 
was  he  never  known,  under  any  circumstances  that  ad 
mitted  of  an  alternative,  to  abandon  a  friend.  The  affinities 
of  such  a  character  were,  as  a  matter  of  course,  those  of 
like  for  like.  His  associates  and  intimates,  though  more 
or  less  determined  by  chance,  were  generally  of  the  high 
est  order  as  to  moral  propensities;  for  he  appeared  to 
possess  a  species  of  instinctive  discrimination,  which  led 
him,  insensibly  to  himself,  most  probably,  to  cling  closest 
to  those  whose  characters  would  best  reward  his  friend 
ship.  In  short,  it  was  said  of  the  Pathfinder,  by  one  ac 
customed  to  study  his  fellows,  that  he  was  a  fair  example 
of  what  a  just-minded  and  pure  man  might  be,  while 
untempted  by  unruly  or  ambitious  desires,  and  left  to 
follow  the  bias  of  his  feelings,  amid  the  solitary  grandeur 
and  ennobling  influences  of  a  sublime  nature;  neither  led 
aside  by  the  inducements  which  influence  all  to  do  evil 
amid  the  incentives  of  civilization,  nor  forgetful  of  the 
Almighty  Being  whose  spirit  pervades  the  wilderness  as 
well  as  the  towns. 

Such  was  the  man  whom  Sergeant  Dunham  had  selected 
as  the  husband  of  Mabel.  In  making  this  choice,  he  had 
not  been  as  much  governed  by  a  clear  and  judicious  view 
of  the  merits  of  the  individual,  perhaps,  as  by  his  own 
likings;  still  no  one  knew  the  Pathfinder  so  intimately  as 
himself  without  always  conceding  to  the  honest  guide  a 
high  place  in  his  esteem  on  account  of  these  very  virtues. 
That  his  daughter  could  find  any  serious  objections  to  the 
match  the  old  soldier  did  not  apprehend;  while,  on  the 
other  hand,  he  saw  many  advantages  to  himself  in  dim 
perspective,  connected  with  the  decline  of  his  days,  and 


132  THE  PATHFINDER 

an  evening  of  life  passed  among  descendants  who  were 
equally  dear  to  him  through  both  parents.  He  had  first 
made  the  proposition  to  his  friend,  who  had  listened  to 
it  kindly,  but  who,  the  sergeant  was  now  pleased  to  find, 
already  betrayed  a  willingness  to  come  into  his  own  views 
that  was  proportioned  to  the  doubts  and  misgivings 
proceeding  from  his  humble  distrust  of  himself. 


CHAPTER  X 

'Think  not  I  love  him,  though  I  ask  for  him; 
Tis  but  a  peevish  boy:— yet  he  talks  well- 
But  what  care  I  for  words  ?  " 

A  WEEK  passed  in  the  usual  routine  of  a  garrison.  Mabel 
was  becoming  used  to  a  situation  that,  at  first,  she  had 
found  not  only  novel,  but  a  little  irksome;  and  the  officers 
and  men  in  their  turn,  gradually  familiarized  to  the 
presence  of  a  young  and  blooming  girl,  whose  attire  and 
carriage  had  that  air  of  modest  gentility  about  them  which 
she  had  obtained  in  the  family  of  her  patroness,  annoyed 
her  less  by  their  ill-concealed  admiration,  while  they 
gratified  her  by  the  respect  which,  she  was  fain  to  think, 
they  paid  her  on  account  of  her  father;  but  which,  in 
truth,  was  more  to  be  attributed  to  her  own  modest  but 
spirited  deportment,  than  to  any  deference  for  the  worthy 
sergeant. 

Acquaintances  made  in  a  forest,  or  in  any  circumstances 
of  unusual  excitement,  soon  attain  their  limits.  Mabel 
found  one  week's  residence  at  Oswego  sufficient  to  deter 
mine  her  as  to  those  with  whom  she  might  be  intimate 
and  those  whom  she  ought  to  avoid.  The  sort  of  neutral 
position  occupied  by  her  father,  who  was  not  an  officer, 
while  he  was  so  much  more  than  a  common  soldier,  by 
keeping  her  aloof  from  the  two  great  classes  of  military 
life,  lessened  the  number  of  those  whom  she  was  compelled 
to  know,  and  made  the  duty  of  decision  comparatively 
easy.  Still,  she  soon  discovered  that  there  were  a  few, 
even  among  those  that  could  aspire  to  a  seat  at  the  com 
mandant's  table,  who  were  disposed  to  overlook  the 
halbert  for  the  novelty  of  a  well-turned  figure  and  of  a 
pretty,  winning  face;  and  by  the  end  of  the  first  two  or 
three  days  she  had  admirers  even  among  the  gentlemen. 
The  quartermaster,  in  particular,  a  middle-aged  soldier, 
who  had  more  than  once  tried  the  blessings  of  matrimony 
already,  but  was  now  a  widower,  was  evidently  disposed 

133 


134  THE  PATHFINDER 

to  increase  his  intimacy  with  the  sergeant,  though  their 
duties  often  brought  them  together;  and  the  youngsters 
among  his  messmates  did  not  fail  to  note  that  this  man  of 
method,  who  was  a  Scotsman  of  the  name  of  Muir,  was 
much  more  frequent  in  his  visits  to  the  quarters  of  his 
subordinate  than  had  formerly  been  his  wont.  A  laugh, 
or  a  joke,  in  honor  of  the  "sergeant's  daughter,"  how 
ever,  limited  their  strictures;  though  "Mabel  Dunham" 
was  soon  a  toast  that  even  the  ensign,  or  the  lieutenant, 
did  not  disdain  to  give. 

At  the  end  of  the  week,  Duncan  of  Lundie  sent  for 
Sergeant  Dunham,  after  evening  roll-call  on  business  of  a 
nature  that,  it  was  understood,  required  a  personal  con 
ference.  The  old  veteran  dwelt  in  a  movable  hut,  which, 
being  placed  on  trucks,  he  could  order  to  be  wheeled  about 
at  pleasure,  sometimes  living  in  one  part  of  the  area 
within  the  fort,  and  sometimes  in  another.  On  the  present 
occasion,  he  had  made  a  halt  near  the  center;  and  there 
he  was  found  by  his  subordinate,  who  was  admitted  to  his 
presence  without  any  delay  or  dancing  attendance  in  an 
ante-chamber.  In  point  of  fact,  there  was  very  little 
difference  in  the  quality  of  the  accommodations  allowed  to 
the  officers  and  those  allowed  to  the  men,  the  former 
being  merely  granted  the  most  room. 

"Walk  in,  sergeant,  walk  in,  my  good  friend,"  said 
old  Lundie  heartily,  as  his  inferior  stood  in  a  respectful 
attitude  at  the  door  of  a  sort  of  library  and  bedroom  into 
which  he  had  been  ushered;  "walk  in,  and  take  a  seat  on 
that  stool.  I  have  sent  for  you,  man,  to  discuss  anything 
but  rosters  and  pay-rolls  this  evening.  It  is  now  many 
years  since  we  have  been  comrades,  and  'auld  lang  syne' 
should  count  for  something,  even  between  a  major  and 
his  orderly,  a  Scot  and  a  Yankee.  Sit  ye  down,  man,  and 
just  put  yourself  at  your  ease.  It  has  been  a  fine  day, 
sergeant. ' ' 

"It  has  indeed,  Major  Duncan,"  returned  the  other, 
who,  though  he  complied  so  far  as  to  take  the  seat,  was 
much  too  practised  not  to  understand  the  degree  of  respect 
it  was  necessary  to  maintain  in  his  manner;  "a  very  fine 
day,  sir,  it  has  been,  and  we  may  look  for  more  of  them 
at  this  season." 


THE  PATHFINDER  135 

"I  hope  so  with  all  my  heart.  The  crops  look  well  as 
It  is,  man,  and  you'll  be  finding  that  the  55th  make  almost 
as  good  farmers  as  soldiers.  I  never  saw  better  potatoes 
in  Scotland  than  we  are  likely  to  have  in  that  new  patch 
of  ours. ' ' 

"They  promise  a  good  yield,  Major  Duncan;  and,  in 
that  light,  a  more  comfortable  winter  than  the  last." 

"Life  is  progressive,  sergeant,  in  its  comforts  as  well 
as  in  its  need  of  them.  We  grow  old,  and  I  begin  to  think 
it  time  to  retire  and  settle  in  life.  I  feel  that  my 
working  days  are  nearly  over." 

"The  king,  God  bless  him!  sir,  has  much  good  service 
in  your  honor  yet." 

"It  maybe  so,  Sergeant  Dunham,  especially  if  he  should 
happen  to  have  a  spare  lieutenant-colonelcy  left." 

"The  55th  will  be  honored  the  day  that  commission  is 
given  to  Duncan  of  Lundie,  sir." 

"And  Duncan  of  Lundie  will  be  honored  the  day  he  re 
ceives  it.  But,  sergeant,  if  you  have  never  had  a  lieu 
tenant-colonelcy,  you  have  had  a  good  wife,  and  that  is 
the  next  thing  to  rank  in  making  a  man  happy." 

"I  have  been  married,  Major  Dunham;  but  it  is  now  a 
long  time  since  I  have  had  no  drawback  on  the  love  I  bear 
his  majesty  and  my  duty." 

"What,  man!  not  even  the  love  you  bear  that  active 
little  round-limbed,  rosy-cheeked  daughter  that  I  have 
seen  in  the  fort  these  last  few  days!  Out  upon  you, 
sergeant!  old  fellow  as  I  am,  I  could  almost  love  that 
little  lassie  myself,  and  send  the  lieutenant-colonelcy  to 
the  devil." 

"We  all  know  where  Major  Duncan's  heart  is,  and  that 
is  in  Scotland,  where  a  beautiful  lady  is  ready  and  willing 
to  make  him  happy,  as  soon  as  his  own  sense  of  duty  shall 
permit." 

"Ay,  hope  is  ever  a  far-off  thing,  sergeant,"  returned 
the  superior,  a  shade  of  melancholy  passing  over  his  hard 
Scottish  features  as  he  spoke;  "and  bonnie  Scotland  is  a 
far-off  country.  Well,  if  we  have  no  heather  and  oatmeal 
in  this  region,  we  have  venison  for  the  killing  of  it  and 
salmon  as  plenty  as  at  Berwick-upon-Tweed.  Is  it  true, 
sergeant,  that  the  men  complain  of  having  been  over- 
venisoned  and  over-pigeoned  of  late?" 


136  THE  PATHFINDER 

"Not  for  some  weeks,  Major  Duncan,  for  neither  deer 
nor  birds  are  so  plenty  at  this  season  as  they  have  been. 
They  begin  to  throw  their  remarks  about  concerning  the 
salmon,  but  I  trust  we  shall  get  through  the  summer 
without  any  serious  disturbance  on  the  score  of  food.  The 
Scotch  in  the  battalion  do,  indeed,  talk  more  than  is  pru 
dent  of  their  want  of  oatmeal,  grumbling  occasionally  of 
our  wheaten  bread." 

"Ah,  that  is  human  nature,  sergeant!  pure,  unadul 
terated  Scotch  human  nature.  A  cake,  man,  to  say  the 
truth,  is  an  agreeable  morsel,  and  I  often  see  the  time 
when  I  pine  for  a  bite  myself." 

"If  the  feeling  gets  to  be  troublesome,  Major  Duncan — 
in  the  men,  I  mean,  sir,  for  I  would  not  think  of  saying 
so  disrespectful  a  thing  to  your  honor — but  if  the  men 
ever  pine  seriously  for  their  natural  food,  I  would  humbly 
recommend  that  some  oatmeal  be  imported,  or  prepared 
in  this  country  for  them,  and  I  think  we  shall  hear  no 
more  of  it.  A  very  little  would  answer  for  a  cure,  sir." 

"You  are  a  wag,  sergeant;  but  hang  me  if  I  am  sure 
you  are  not  right.  There  may  be  sweeter  things  in  this 
world,  after  all,  than  oatmeal.  You  have  a  sweet  daughter, 
Dunham,  for  one. ' ' 

"The  girl  is  like  her  mother,  Major  Duncan,  and  will 
pass  inspection,"  said  the  sergeant  proudly.  "Neither 
was  brought  up  on  anything  better  than  good  American 
flour.  The  girl  will  pass  inspection,  sir." 

"That  would  she,  I'll  answer  for  it.  Well,  I  may  as 
well  come  to  the  point  at  once,  man,  and  bring  up  my 
reserve  into  the  front  of  the  battle.  Here  is  Davy  Muir, 
the  quartermaster,  disposed  to  make  your  daughter  his 
wife,  and  he  has  just  got  me  to  open  the  matter  to  you, 
being  fearful  of  compromising  his  own  dignity;  and  I 
may  as  well  add  that  half  the  youngsters  in  the  fort  toast 
her,  and  talk  of  her  from  morning  till  night." 

"She  is  much  honored,  sir,"  returned  the  father  stiffly; 
"but  I  trust  the  gentlemen  will  find  something  more 
worthy  of  them  to  talk  about  ere  long.  I  hope  to  see  her 
the  wife  of  an  honest  man  before  many  weeks,  sir." 

"Yes,  Davy  is  an  honest  man,  and  that  is  more  than 
can  be  said  for  all  in  the  quartermaster's  department, 


THE  PATHFINDER  137 

I'm  thinking,  sergeant,"  returned  Lundie,  with  a  slight 
smile.  "Well,  then  may  I  tell  the  Cupid-stricken  youth 
that  the  matter  is  as  good  as  settled?" 

"I  thank  your  honor;  but  Mabel  is  bethrothed  to  an 
other." 

"The  devil  she  is!  That  will  produce  a  stir  in  the  fort; 
though  I'm  not  sorry  to  hear  it  either,  for,  to  be  frank 
with  you,  sergeant,  I'm  no  great  admirer  of  unequal 
matches. ' ' 

"I  think  with  your  honor,  and  have  no  desire  to  see 
my  daughter  an  officer's  lady.  If  she  can  get  as  high  as 
her  mother  was  before  her,  it  ought  to  satisfy  any  reason 
able  woman. ' ' 

"And  may  I  ask,  sergeant,  who  is  the  lucky  man  that 
you  intend  to  call  son-in-law?" 

"The  Pathfinder,  your  honor." 

"Pathfinder!" 

"The  same,  Major  Duncan;  and  in  naming  him  to  you, 
I  give  you  his  whole  history.  No  one  is  better  known  on 
this  frontier  than  my  honest,  brave,  true-hearted  friend." 

"All  that  is  true  enough;  but  is  he,  after  all,  the  sort 
of  person  to  make  a  girl  of  twenty  happy?" 

"Why  not,  your  honor?  The  man  is  at  the  head  of  his 
calling.  There  is  no  other  guide  or  scout  connected  with 
the  army  who  has  half  the  reputation  of  Pathfinder,  or 
who  deserves  to  have  it  half  as  well." 

"Very  true,  sergeant;  but  is  the  reputation  of  a  scout 
exactly  the  sort  of  renown  to  captivate  a  girl's  fancy?" 

"Talking  of  girls'  fancies,  sir,  is  in  my  humble  opinion 
much  like  talking  of  a  recruit's  judgment.  If  we  were 
to  take  the  movements  of  the  awkward  squad,  sir,  as  a 
guide,  we  should  never  form  a  decent  line  in  battalion, 
Major  Duncan." 

"But  your  daughter  has  nothing  awkward  about  her; 
for  a  genteeler  girl  of  her  class  could  not  be  found  in  old 
Albion  itself.  Is  she  of  your  way  of  thinking  in  this 
matter?  though  I  suppose  she  must  be,  as  you  say  she  is 
betrothed." 

"We  have  not  yet  conversed  on  the  subject,  your  honor; 
but  I  consider  her  mind  as  good  as  made  up^from  several 
little  circumstances  which  might  be  named." 


THE  PATHFINDER 

"And  what  are  these  circumstances,  sergeant?"  asked 
the  major,  who  began  to  take  more  interest  than  he  had 
at  first  felt  on  the  subject.  "I  confess  a  little  curiosity 
to  know  something  about  a  woman's  mind,  being,  as  you 
know,  a  bachelor  myself. ' ' 

"Why,  your  honor,  when  I  speak  of  the  Pathfinder  to 
the  girl,  she  always  looks  me  full  in  the  face;  chimes  in 
with  everything  I  say  in  his  favor,  and  has  a  frank  open 
way  with  her,  which  says  as  much  as  if  she  half  considered 
him  already  as  a  husband." 

"Hum!  and  these  signs,  you  think,  Dunham,  are  faith 
ful  tokens  of  your  daughter's  feelings?" 

"I  do,  your  honor,  for  they  strike  me  as  natural.  When 
I  find  a  man,  sir,  who  looks  me  full  in  the  face,  while  he 
praises  an  officer — for,  begging  your  honor's  pardon,  the 
men  will  sometimes  pass  their  strictures  on  their  betters 
— and  when  I  find  a  man  looking  me  in  the  eyes  as  he 
praises  his  captain,  I  always  set  it  down  that  the  fellow 
is  honest  and  means  what  he  says. ' ' 

"Is  there  not  some  material  difference  in  the  age  of 
the  intended  bridegroom  and  that  of  his  pretty  bride, 
sergeant?" 

"You  are  quite  right,  sir;  Pathfinder  is  well  advanced 
towards  forty,  and  Mabel  has  every  prospect  of  happiness 
that  a  young  woman  can  derive  from  the  certainty  of 
possessing  an  experienced  husband.  I  was  quite  forty 
myself,  your  honor,  when  I  married  her  mother." 

"But  will  your  daughter  be  as  likely  to  admire  a  green 
hunting-shirt,  such  as  that  our  worthy  guide  wears,  with 
a  fox-skin  cap,  as  the  smart  uniform  of  the  55th?" 

"Perhaps  not,  sir;  and  therefore  she  will  have  the 
merit  of  self-denial,  which  always  makes  a  young  woman 
wiser  and  better." 

"And  are  you  not  afraid  that  she  may  be  left  a  widow 
while  still  a  young  woman?  what  between  wild  beasts, 
and  wilder  savages,  Pathfinder  may  be  said  to  carry  his 
life  in  his  hand." 

' '  'Every  bullet  has  its  billet, '  Lundie, ' '  for  so  the  major 
was  fond  of  being  called  in  his  moments  of  condescension, 
and  when  not  engaged  in  military  affairs;  "and  no  man 
in  the  55th  can  call  himself  beyond  or  above  the  chances 


THE  PATHFINDER  139 

of  sudden  death.  In  that  particular,  Mabel  would  gain 
nothing  by  a  change.  Besides,  sir,  if  I  may  speak  freely 
on  such  a  subject,  I  much  doubt  if  ever  Pathfinder  dies 
in  battle,  or  by  any  of  the  sudden  chances  of  the  wilder 
ness." 

"And  why  so,  sergeant?"  asked  the  major.  "He  is  a 
soldier,  so  far  as  danger  is  concerned,  and  one  that  is 
much  more  than  usually  exposed;  and,  being  free  of  his 
person,  why  should  he  expect  to  escape  when  others  do 
not?" 

"I  do  not  believe,  your  honor,  that  the  Pathfinder  con 
siders  his  own  chances  better  than  any  one's  else,  but  the 
man  will  never  die  by  a  bullet.  I  have  seen  him  so  often 
handling  his  rifle  with  as  much  composure  as  if  it  were  a 
shepherd's  crook,  in  the  midst  of  the  heaviest  showers  of 
bullets,  asd  under  so  many  extraordinary  circumstances, 
that  I  do  not  think  Providence  means  he  should  ever  fall 
in  that  manner.  And  yet,  if  there  be  a  man  in  his 
Majesty's  dominions  who  really  deserves  such  a  death,  it 
is  Pathfinder." 

"We  never  know,  sergeant,"  returned  Lundie,  with  a 
countenance  grave  with  thought;  "and  the  less  we  say 
about  it,  perhaps,  the  better.  But  will  your  daughter — 
Mabel,  I  think,  you  call  her — will  Mabel  be  as  willing  to 
accept  one  who,  after  all,  is  a  mere  hanger-on  of  the 
army,  as  to  take  one  from  the  service  itself?  There  is  no 
hope  of  promotion  for  the  guide,  sergeant." 

"He  is  at  the  head  of  his  corps  already,  your  honor. 
In  short,  Mabel  has  made  up  her  mind  on  this  subject; 
and,  as  your  honor  has  had  the  condescension  to  speak  to 
me  about  Mr.  Muir,  I  trust  you  will  be  kind  enough  to 
say  that  the  girl  is  as  good  as  billeted  for  life." 

"Well,  well,  this  is  your  own  matter,  and,  now — 
Sergeant  Dunham ! ' ' 

"Your  honor,"  said  the  other,  rising,  and  giving  the 
customary  salute. 

"You  have  been  told  it  is  my  intention  to  send  you 
down  among  the  Thousand  Islands  for  the  next  month. 
All  the  old  subalterns  have  had  their  tours  of  duty  in  that 
quarter— all  that  I  like  to  trust  at  least;  and  it  has  at 
length  come  to  your  turn.  Lieutenant  Muir,  it  is  true, 


140  THE  PATHFINDER 

claims  his  right;  but,  being  quartermaster,  I  do  not  like  to 
break  up  well-established  arrangements.  Are  the  men 
drafted?" 

"Everything  is  ready,  your  honor.  The  draft  is  made, 
and  I  understood  that  the  canoe  which  got  in  last  night 
brought  a  message  to  say  that  the  party  already  below  is 
looking  out  for  the  relief." 

"It  did;  and  you  must  sail  the  day  after  to-morrow,  if 
not  to-morrow  night.  It  will  be  wise,  perhaps,  to  sail  in 
the  dark." 

"So  Jasper  thinks,  Major  Duncan;  and  I  know  no  one 
more  to  be  depended  on  in  such  an  affair  than  young 
Jasper  Western. ' ' 

"Young  Jasper  Eau-douce!"  said  Lundie,  a  slight  smile 
gathering  around  his  usually  stern  mouth.  "Will  that 
lad  be  of  your  party,  sergeant?" 

"Your  honor  will  remember  that  the  Scud  never  quits 
port  without  him." 

"True;  but  all  general  rules  have  their  exceptions.  Have 
I  not  seen  a  seafaring  person  about  the  fort  within  the 
last  few  days?" 

"No  doubt,  your  honor;  it  is  Master  Cap,  a  brother-in- 
law  of  mine,  who  brought  my  daughter  from  below." 

"Why  not  put  him  in  the  Scud  for  this  cruise,  sergeant, 
and  leave  Jasper  behind?  Your  brother-in-law  would  like 
the  variety  of  a  fresh-water  cruise,  and  you  would  enjoy 
more  of  his  company." 

"I  intended  to  ask  your  honor's  permission  to  take  him 
along;  but  he  must  go  as  a  volunteer.  Jasper  is  too  brave 
a  lad  to  be  turned  out  of  his  command  without  a  reason, 
Major  Duncan;  and  I'm  afraid  brother  Cap  despises  fresh 
water  too  much  to  do  duty  on  it." 

"Quite  right,  sergeant,  and  I  leave  all  this  to  your  own 
discretion.  Eau-douce  must  retain  his  command,  on 
second  thoughts.  You  intend  that  Pathfinder  shall  also 
be  of  the  party?" 

"If  your  honor  approves  of  it.  There  will  be  service 
for  both  the  guides,  the  Indian  as  well  as  the  white  man." 

"I  think  you  are  right.  Well,  sergeant,  I  wish  you 
good  luck  in  the  enterprise;  and  remember  the  post  is  to 
be  destroyed  and  abandoned  when  your  Command  is  with- 


THE  PATHFINDER  141 

drawn.  It  will  have  done  its  work  by  that  time,  or  we 
shall  have  failed  entirely,  and  it  is  too  ticklish  a  position 
to  be  maintained  unnecessarily.  You  can  retire." 

Sergeant  Dunham  gave  the  customary  salute,  turned  on 
his  heels  as  if  they  had  been  pivots,  and  had  got  the  door 
nearly  drawn  to  after  him,  when  he  was  suddenly  recalled. 

"I  had  forgotten,  sergeant,  the  younger  officers  have 
begged  for  a  shooting  match,  and  to-morrow  has  been 
named  for  the  day.  All  competitors  will  be  admitted,  and 
the  prizes  will  be  a  silver-mounted  powder  horn,  a  leath 
ern  flask  ditto,"  reading  from  a  piece  of  paper,  "as I  see 
by  the  professional  jargon  of  this  bill,  and  a  silk  calash  for 
a  lady.  The  latter  is  to  enable  the  victor  to  show  his 
gallantry  by  making  an  offering  of  it  to  her  he  best  loves. ' ' 

"All  very  agreeable,  your  honor,  at  least  to  him  that 
succeeds.  Is  the  Pathfinder  to  be  permitted  to  enter?" 

"I  do  not  well  see  how  he  can  be  excluded,  if  he  choose 
to  come  forward.  Latterly,  I  have  observed  that  he  takes 
no  share  in  these  sports,  probably  from  a  conviction  of 
his  own  unequalled  skill." 

"That's  it,  Major  Duncan;  the  honest  fellow  knows 
there  is  not  a  man  on  the  frontier  who  can  equal  him,  and 
he  does  not  wish  to  spoil  the  pleasure  of  others.  I  think 
we  may  trust  to  his  delicacy  in  anything,  sir.  Perhaps  it 
may  be  as  well  to  let  him  have  his  own  way?" 

"In  this  instance  we  must,  sergeant.  Whether  he  will 
be  as  successful  in  all  others  remains  to  be  seen.  I  wish 
you  good  evening,  Dunham." 

The  sergeant  now  withdrew,  leaving  Duncan  of  Lundie 
to  his  own  own  thoughts;  that  they  were  not  altogether 
disagreeable  was  to  be  inferred  from  the  smiles  which  oc 
casionally  covered  a  countenance  hard  and  martial  in  its 
usual  expression,  though  there  were  moments  in  which 
all  its  severe  sobriety  prevailed.  Half  an  hour  might 
have  passed,  when  at  a  tap  the  door  was  answered  by  a 
direction  to  enter.  A  middle-aged  man,  in  the  dress  of 
an  officer,  but  whose  uniform  wanted  the  usual  smartnes; 
of  the  profession,  made  his  appearance,  and  was  salu 
as  "Mr.  Muir."  , 

"I  have  come  sir,  at  your  bidding,  to  know  my  f 
tune,"  said  the  quartermaster,  in  a  strong  Scotch  accent, 


142  THE  PATHFINDER 

as  soon  as  he  had  taken  the  seat  which  was  proffered  to 
him.  "To  say  the  truth  to  you,  Major  Duncan,  this  girl 
is  making  as  much  havoc  in  the  garrison  as  the  French 
did  before  Ty;  I  never  witnessed  so  general  a  rout  in  so 
short  a  time!" 

"Surely,  Davy,  you  don't  mean  to  persuade  me  that 
your  young  and  unsophisticated  heart  is  in  such  aflame, 
after  one  week's  ignition?  Why,  man,  this  is  worse  than 
the  affair  in  Scotland,  where  it  was  said  the  heat  within 
was  so  intense  that  it  just  burnt  a  hole  through  your  own 
precious  body,  and  left  a  place  for  all  the  lassies  to  peer 
in  at,  to  see  what  the  combustible  material  was  worth." 

"Ye'll  have  your  own  way,  Major  Duncan;  and  your 
father  and  mother  would  have  theirs  before  ye,  even  if 
the  enemy  were  in  the  camp.  I  see  nothing  so  extraor- 
dinar'  in  young  people  following  the  bent  of  their  incli 
nations  and  wishes." 

"But  you've  followed  yours  so  often,  Davy,  that  I 
should  think  by  this  time  it  had  lost  the  edge  of  novelty. 
Including  that  informal  affair  in  Scotland,  when  you  were 
a  lad,  you've  been  married  four  times  already." 

"Only  three,  major,  as  I  hope  to  get  another  wife. 
I've  not  yet  had  my  number;  no,  no;  only  three." 

"I'm  thinking,  Davy,  you  don't  include  the  first  affair 
I  mentioned;  that  in  which  there  was  no  parson." 

"And  why  should  I,  major?  The  courts  decided  that 
it  was  no  marriage;  and  what  more  could  a  man  want? 
The  woman  took  advantage  of  a  slight  amorous  propen 
sity  that  may  be  a  weakness  in  my  disposition,  perhaps, 
and  inveigled  me  into  a  contract  which  was  found  to  be 
illegal." 

"If  I  remember  right,  Muir,  there  were  thought  to  be 
two  sides  to  that  question,  in  the  time  of  it?" 

"It  would  be  but  an  indifferent  question,  my  dear 
major,  that  hadn't  two  sides  to  it;  and  I've  known  many 
that  had  three.  But  the  poor  woman's  dead,  and  there 
was  no  issue;  so  nothing  came  of  it  after  all.  Then,  I 
was  particularly  unfortunate  with  my  second  wife;  I  say 
second,  major,  out  of  deference  to  you,  and  on  the  mere 
supposition  that  the  first  was  a  marriage  at  all;  but  first 
or  second,  I  was  particularly  unfortunate  with  Jeannie 


THE  PATHFINDER  143 

Graham,  who  died  in  the  first  lustrum,  leaving  neither 
chick  nor  chiel  behind  her.  I  do  think,  if  Jeannie  had 
survived,  I  never  should  have  turned  my  thoughts  toward 
another  wife." 

"But  as  she  did  not,  you  married  twice  after  her  death; 
and  are  desirous  of  doing  so  a  third  time." 

"The  truth  can  never  justly  be  gainsaid,  Major  Duncan, 
and  I  am  always  ready  to  avow  it.  I'm  thinking,  Lundie, 
you  are  melancholy  this  fine  evening?" 

"No,  Muir,  not  melancholy  absolutely;  but  a  little 
thoughtful,  I  confess.  I  was  looking  back  to  my  boyish 
days,  when  I,  the  laird's  son,  and  you,  the  parson's, 
roamed  about  our  native  hills,  happy  and  careless  boys, 
taking  little  heed  to  the  future;  and  then  have  followed 
some  thoughts,  that  may  be  a  little  painful,  concerning 
that  future  as  it  has  turned  out  to  be." 

"Surely,  Lundie,  ye  do  not  complain  of  yer  portion  of 
it.  You've  risen  to  be  a  major,  and  will  soon  be  a  lieu 
tenant-colonel,  if  letters  tell  the  truth;  while  I  am  just 
one  step  higher  than  when  your  honored  father  gave  me  my 
first  commission,  and  a  poor  devil  of  a  quartermaster." 

"And  the  four  wives?" 

"Three,  Lundie;  three  only  that  were  legal,  even  under 
our  own  liberal  and  sanctified  laws." 

"Well,  then,  let  it  be  three.  Ye  know,  Davy,"  said 
Major  Duncan,  insensibly  dropping  into  the  pronuncia 
tion  and  dialect  of  his  youth,  as  is  much  the  practise 
with  educated  Scotchmen  as  they  warm  with  a  subject 
that  comes  near  the  heart,  "ye  know,  Davy,  that  my  own 
choice  has  long  been  made,  and  in  how  anxious  and  hope- 
wearied  a  manner  I've  waited  for  that  happy  hour  when  I 
can  call  the  woman  I've  so  long  loved  a  wife;  and  here 
have  you,  without  fortune,  name,  birth,  or  merit — I  mean 
particular  merit — 

"Na,  na;  dinna  say  that,  Lundie.  The  Muirs  are  of 
gude  bluid." 

"Well,  then,  without  aught  but  bluid,  ye've  wived 
four  times — 

"I  tall  ye  but  thrice,  Lundie.  Ye'll  weaken  auld 
friendship  if  ye  call  it  four." 

"Put  it  at  yer  own  number,  Davy;  and  it's  far  more 


144  THE  PATHFINDER 

than  yer  share.  Our  lives  have  been  very  different,  on 
the  score  of  matrimony,  at  least;  you  must  allow  that, 
my  old  friend." 

"And  which  do  you  think  has  been  the  gainer,  major, 
speaking  as  frankly  thegither  as  we  did  when  lads?" 

"Nay,  I've  nothing  to  conceal.  My  days  have  passed  in 
hope  deferred,  while  yours  have  passed  in — 

"Not  in  hope  realized,  I  give  you  mine  honor,  Major 
Duncan,"  interrupted  the  quartermaster.  "Each  new 
experiment  I  have  thought  might  prove  an  advantage; 
but  disappointment  seems  the  lot  of  man.  Ah!  this  is  a 
vain  world  of  ours,  Lundie,  it  must  be  owned;  and  in 
nothing  vainer  than  in  matrimony." 

"And  yet  you  are  ready  to  put  your  neck  into  the  noose 
for  the  fifth  time?" 

"I  desire  to  say,  it  will  be  but  the  fourth,  Major  Dun 
can, "  said  the  quartermaster  positively;  then,  instantly 
changing  the  expression  of  his  face  to  one  of  boyish  rap 
ture,  he  added,  "But  this  Mabel  Dunham  is  a  rara  avis! 
Our  Scotch  lassies  are  fair  and  pleasant;  but  it  must  be 
owned  these  colonials  are  of  surpassing  comeliness." 

"You  will  do  well  to  recollect  your  commission  and 
blood,  Davy.  I  believe  all  four  of  your  wives — 

"I  wish,  my  dear  Lundie,  ye'd  be  more  accurate  in  yer 
arithmetic.  Three  times  one  make  three." 

"All  three,  then,  were  what  might  be  termed  gentle 
women?" 

"That's  just  it,  major.  Three  were  gentlewomen,  as 
you  say,  and  the  connections  were  suitable." 

"And  the  fourth  being  the  daughter  of  my  father's 
gardener,  the  connection  was  unsuitable.  But  have  you 
no  fear  that  marrying  the  child  of  a  non-commissioned 
officer,  who  is  in  the  same  corps  with  yourself,  will  have 
the  effect  to  lessen  your  consequence  in  the  regiment?" 

"That's  just  been  my  weakness  through  life,  Major 
Duncan;  for  I've  always  married  without  regard  to  con 
sequences.  Every  man  has  his  besetting  sin,  and  matri 
mony,  I  fear,  is  mine.  And  now  that  we  have  discussed 
what  may  be  called  the  principles  of  the  connection,  I 
will  just  ask  if  you  did  me  the  favor  to  speak  to  the  ser 
geant  on  the  trifling  affair?" 


THE  PATHFINDER  145 

"I  did,  David;  and  am  sorry  to  say,  for  your  hopes, 
that  I  see  no  great  chance  of  your  succeeding." 

"Not  succeeding!  An  officer,  and  a  quartermaster  in 
the  bargain,  and  not  succeed  with  a  sergeant's  daughter!" 

"It's  just  that,  Davy." 

"And  why  not,  Lundie?  Will  ye  have  the  goodness  to 
answer  just  that?" 

"The  girl  is  betrothed.  Hand  plighted,  word  passed, 
love  pledged — no,  hang  me  if  I  believe  that  either;  but 
she  is  betrothed." 

"Well,  that's  an  obstacle,  it  must  be  avowed,  major, 
though  it  counts  for  little  if  the  heart  is  free." 

"Quite  true;  and  I  think  it  probable  the  heart  is  free 
in  this  case;  for  the  intended  husband  appears  to  be  the 
choice  of  the  father  rather  than  of  the  daughter." 

"And  who  may  it  be,  major?"  asked  the  quartermas 
ter,  who  viewed  the  whole  matter  with  the  philosophy  and 
coolness  acquired  by  use.  "I  do  not  recollect  any  plausi 
ble  suitor  that  is  likely  to  stand  in  my  way." 

"No,  you  are  the  only  plausible  suitor  on  the  frontier, 
Davy.  The  happy  man  is  Pathfinder. " 

' '  Pathfinder,  Major  Duncan ! ' ' 

"No  more,  nor  any  less,  David  Muir.  Pathfinder  is 
the  man;  but  it  may  relieve  your  jealousy  a  little  to  know 
that,  in  my  judgment  at  least,  it  is  a  match  of  the  father's 
rather  than  of  the  daughter's  seeking." 

"I  thought  as  much!"  exclaimed  the  quartermaster, 
drawing  a  long  breath,  like  one  who  felt  relieved;  "it's 
quite  impossible  that  with  my  experience  in  human 
nature — 

"Particularly  hu-woman's  nature,  David." 

"Ye  will  have  yer  joke,  Lundie,  let  who  will  suffer. 
But  I  did  not  think  it  possible  I  could  be  deceived  as  to 
the  young  woman's  inclinations,  which  I  think  I  may 
boldly  pronounce  to  be  altogether  above  the  condition  of 
Pathfinder.  As  for  the  individual  himself— why,  time 
will  show." 

"Now,  tell    me    frankly,   Davy    Muir,"   said    Lundie, 
stopping  short  in  his  walk,  and  looking  the  other  earnestl 
in  the  face  with  a  comical  expression  of  surprise,  that 
rendered  the  veteran's  countenance  ridiculously  earnest, 
10 


146  THE  PATHFINDER 

"do  you  really  suppose  a  girl  like  the  daughter  of  Ser 
geant  Dunham  can  take  a  serious  fancy  to  a  man  of  your 
years  and  appearance,  and  experience,  I  might  add?" 

"Hout,  awa',  Lundie!  ye  dinna  know  the  sax,  and 
that's  the  reason  yer  unmarried  in  yer  forty-fifth  year. 
It's  a  fearfu'  time  ye've  been  a  bachelor,  major!" 

"And  what  may  be  your  age,  Lieutenant  Muir,  if  I 
may  presume  to  ask  so  delicate  a  question?" 

"Forty-seven;  I'll  no'  deny  it,  Lundie;  and  if  I  get 
Mabel,  there'll  be  just  a  wife  for  every  twa  lustrums. 
But  I  didna  think  Sergeant  Dunham  would  be  so  humble- 
minded  as  to  dream  of  giving  that  sweet  lass  of  his  to  one 
like  the  Pathfinder. ' ' 

"There's  no  dream  about  it,  Davy;  the  man  is  as  serious 
as  a  soldier  about  to  be  flogged." 

"Well,  well,  major,  we  are  auld  friends,"  both  ran 
into  the  Scotch  or  avoided  it,  as  they  approached  or  drew 
away  from  their  younger  days,  in  the  dialogue — "and 
ought  to  know  how  to  take  and  give  a  joke,  off  duty.  It 
is  possible  the  worthy  man  has  not  understood  my  hints, 
or  he  never  would  have  thought  of  such  a  thing.  The 
difference  between  an  officer's  consort  and  a  guide's 
woman  is  as  vast  as  that  between  the  antiquity  of  Scot 
land  and  the  antiquity  of  America.  I'm  auld  blood,  too, 
Lundie." 

"Take  my  word  for  it,  Davy,  your  antiquity  will  do 
you  no  good  in  this  affair;  and  as  for  your  blood,  it  is 
not  older  than  your  bones.  Well,  well,  man,  ye  know  the 
sergeant's  answer;  and  so  ye  perceive  that  my  influence, 
on  which  ye  counted  so  much,  can  do  nought  for  ye.  Let 
us  take  a  glass  thegither,  Davy,  for  auld  acquaintance 
sake;  and  then  ye' 11  be  doing  well  to  remember  the  party 
that  marches  the  morrow,  and  to  forget  Mabel  Dunham 
as  fast  as  ever  you  can. ' ' 

"Ah,  major!  I  have  always  found  it  easier  to  forget 
a  wife  than  to  forget  a  sweetheart.  When  a  couple  are 
fairly  married,  all  is  settled  but  the  death,  as  one  may  say, 
which  must  finally  part  us  all;  and  it  seems  to  me  awfu' 
irreverent  to  disturb  the  departed;  whereas  there  is  so 
much  anxiety  and  hope  and  felicity  in  expectation  like, 
with  the  lassie,  that  it  keeps  thought  alive." 


THE  PATHFINDER  147 

"That  is  just  my  idea  of  your  situation,  Davy;  for  I 
never  supposed  you  expected  any  more  felicity  with  either 
of  your  wives.  Now,  I've  heard  of  fellows  who  were  so 
stupid  as  to  look  forward  to  happiness  with  their  wives 
even  beyond  the  grave.  I  drink  to  your  success,  or  to 
your  speedy  recovery  from  this  attack,  lieutenant;  and  I 
admonish  you  to  be  more  cautious  in  future,  as  some  of 
these  violent  cases  may  yet  carry  you  off." 

"Many  thanks,  dear  Major;  and  a  speedy  termination 
to  an  old  courtship,  of  which  I  know  something.  This  is 
real  mountain  dew,  Lundie,  and  it  warms  the  heart  like 
a  gleam  of  bonnie  Scotland.  As  for  the  men  you've  just 
mentioned,  they  could  have  had  but  one  wife  a  piece;  for 
where  there  are  several,  the  deeds  of  the  women  them 
selves  may  carry  them  different  ways.  I  think  a  reason 
able  husband  ought  to  be  satisfied  with  passing  his  allotted 
time  with  any  particular  wife  in  this  world,  and  not  to 
go  about  moping  for  things  unattainable.  I'm  infinitely 
obliged  to  you,  Major  Duncan,  for  this  and  all  your  other 
acts  of  friendship;  and  if  you  could  but  add  another,  I 
should  think  you  had  not  altogether  forgotten  the  play 
fellow  of  your  boyhood." 

"Well,  Davy,  if  the  request  be  reasonable,  and  such  as 
a  superior  ought  to  grant,  out  with  it,  man." 

"If  ye  could  only  contrive  a  little  service  for  me,  down 
among  the  Thousand  Isles,  for  a  fortnight  or  so,  I  think 
this  matter  might  be  settled  to  the  satisfaction  of  all 
parties.  Just  remember,  Lundie,  the  lassie  is  the  only 
marriageable  white  female  on  this  frontier." 

"There  is  always  duty  for  one  in  your  line  at  a  post, 
however  small ;  but  this  below  can  be  done  by  the  sergeant 
as  well  as  by  the  quartermaster-general,  and  better,  too." 

"But  not  better  than  by  a  regimental  officer.  There  is 
great  waste,  in  common,  among  the  orderlies." 

"I'll  think  of  it,  Muir,"  said  the  major,  laughing, 
"and  you  shall  have  my  answer  in  the  morning.  Here 
will  be  a  fine  occasion,  man,  the  morrow,  to  show  yourself 
off  before  the  lady;  you  are  expert  with  the  rifle,  and 
prizes  are  to  be  won.  Make  up  your  mind  to  display 
your  skill,  and  who  knows  what  may  yet  happen  before 
the  Scud  sails." 


148  THE  PATHFINDER 

"I'm  thinking  most  of  the  young  men  will  try  their 
hands  in  this  sport,  major!" 

"That  will  they,  and  some  of  the  old  ones,  too,  if  you 
appear.  To  keep  you  in  countenance,  I'll  try  a  shot  or 
two  myself,  Davy;  and  you  know  I  have  some  name  that 
way. ' ' 

"It  might,  indeed,  do  good.  The  female  heart,  Major 
Duncan,  is  susceptible  in  many  different  modes,  and  some 
times  in  a  way  that  the  rules  of  philosophy  might  reject. 
Some  require  a  suitor  to  sit  down  before  them,  as  it  might 
be,  in  a  regular  siege,  and  only  capitulate  when  the  place 
can  hold  out  no  longer;  others,  again,  like  to  be  carried 
by  storm;  while  there  are  hussies  who  can  only  be  caught 
by  leading  them  into  an  ambush.  The  first  is  the  most 
creditable  and  officer-like  process,  perhaps;  but  I  must  say 
I  think  the  last  the  most  pleasing. ' ' 

"An  opinion  formed  from  experience,  out  of  all  ques 
tion.  And  what  of  the  storming  parties?" 

"They  may  do  for  younger  men,  Lundie, "  returned  the 
quartermaster,  rising  and  winking,  a  liberty  that  he  often 
took  with  his  commanding  officer  on  the  score  of  a  long 
intimacy;  "every  period  of  life  has  its  necessities,  and  at 
forty-seven  it's  just  as  well  to  trust  a  little  to  the  head. 
I  wish  you  a  very  good  even,  Major  Duncan,  and  freedom 
from  gout,  with  a  sweet  and  refreshing  sleep. ' ' 

"The  same  to  yourself ,  Mr.  Muir,  with  many  thanks. 
Remember  the  passage-of-arms  for  the  morrow." 

The  quartermaster  withdrew,  leaving  Lundie  in  his 
library  to  reflect  on  what  had  just  passed.  Use  had  so 
accustomed  Major  Duncan  to  Lieutenant  Muir  and  all  his 
traits  and  humors,  that  the  conduct  of  the  latter  did  not 
strike  the  former  with  the  same  force  as  it  will  probably 
the  reader.  In  truth,  while  all  men  act  under  one  common 
law  that  is  termed  nature,  the  varieties  in  their  disposi 
tions,  modes  of  judging,  feelings,  and  selfishness  are 
infinite. 


CHAPTER  XI 

"Compel  the  hawke  to  sit  that  is  unmann'd, 
Or  make  the  hound,  untaug-ht,  to  draw  the  deere, 
Or  bring  the  free  against  his  will  in  band, 
Or  move  the  sad  a  pleasant  tale  to  heere, 
Your  time  is  lost,  and  you  no  whit  the  neere  ! 
So  love  ne  learnes,  of  force  the  heart  to  knit ; 
She  serves  but  those  that  feel  sweet  fancies'  fit." 

—MIRROR  FOR  MAGISTRATES. 

IT  is  not  often  that  hope  is  rewarded  by  fruition  so 
completely  as  the  wishes  of  the  young  men  of  the  garrison 
were  met  by  the  state  of  the  weather  on  the  succeeding 
day.  The  heats  of  summer  were  little  felt  at  Oswego  at 
the  period  of  which  we  are  writing;  for  the  shade  of  the 
forest,  added  to  the  refreshing  breezes  from  the  lake,  so 
far  reduced  the  influence  of  the  sun  as  to  render  the  nights 
always  cool  and  the  days  seldom  oppressive. 

It  was  now  September,  a  month  in  which  the  strong 
gales  of  the  coast  often  appear  to  force  themselves  across 
the  country  as  far  as  the  great  lakes,  where  tha  inland 
sailor  sometimes  feels  that  genial  influence  which  charac 
terizes  the  winds  of  the  ocean  invigorating  his  frame, 
cheering  his  spirits,  and  arousing  his  moral  force.  Such 
a  day  was  that  on  which  the  garrison  of  Oswego,  assem 
bled  to  witness  what  its  commander  had  jocularly  called 
a  "passage-of-arms."  Lundie  was  a  scholar  in  military 
matters  at  least,  and  it  was  one  of  his  sources  of  honest 
pride  to  direct  the  reading  and  thoughts  of  the  young  men 
under  his  orders  to  the  more  intellectual  parts  of  their 
profession.  For  one  in  his  situation,  his  library  was  both 
good  and  extensive,  and  its  books  were  freely  lent  to  all 
who  desired  to  use  them.  Among  other  whims  that  had 
found  their  way  into  the  garrison  through  these  means, 
was  a  relish  for  the  sort  of  amusement  in  which  it  was 
now  about  to  indulge;  and  around  which  some  chronicles 
of  the  days  of  chivalry  had  induced  them  to  throw  a  parade 
and  romance  not  unsuited  to  the  characters  and  habits  of 

149 


150  THE  PATHFINDER 

soldiers,  or  to  the  isolated  and  wild  post  occupied  by  this 
particular  garrison.  While  so  earnestly  bent  on  pleasure, 
however,  they  on  whom  that  duty  devolved  did  not  neglect 
the  safety  of  the  garrison.  One  standing  on  the  ramparts 
of  the  fort,  and  gazing  on  the  waste  of  glittering  water 
that  bounded  the  view  all  along  the  northern  horizon,  and 
on  the  slumbering  and  seemingly  boundless  forest  which 
filled  the  other  half  of  the  panorama,  would  have  fancied 
the  spot  the  very  abode  of  peacefulness  and  security;  but 
Duncan  of  Lundie  too  well  knew  that  the  woods  might,  at 
any  moment,  give  up  their  hundreds,  bent  on  the  destruc 
tion  of  the  fort  and  all  it  contained;  and  that  even  the 
treacherous  lake  offered  a  highway  of  easy  approach  by 
which  his  more  civilized  and  scarcely  less  wily  foes,  the 
French,  could  come  upon  him  at  an  unguarded  moment. 
Parties  were  sent  out  under  old  and  vigilant  officers,  men 
who  cared  little  for  the  sports  of  the  day,  to  scour  the 
forest;  and  one  entire  company  held  the  fort,  under  arms, 
with  orders  to  maintain  a  vigilance  as  strict  as  if  an  enemy 
of  superior  force  was  known  to  be  near.  With  these  pre 
cautions,  the  remainder  of  the  officers  and  men  abandoned 
themselves,  without  apprehension,  to  the  business  of  the 
morning. 

The  spot  selected  for  the  sports  was  a  sort  of  esplanade, 
a  little  west  of  the  fort,  and  on  the  immediate  bank  of  the 
lake.  It  had  been  cleared  of  its  trees  and  stumps,  that  it 
r.-.irh:  answer  the  :  arj  ^:-  o:  a  parade-ground,  i.s  it  pos- 
sessed  the  advantages  of  having  its  rear  protected  by  the 
water,  and  one  of  its  flanks  by  the  works.  Men  drilling 
on  it  could  be  attacked,  consequently,  on  two  sides  only; 
and  as  the  cleared  space  beyond  it,  in  the  direction  of  the 
west  and  south,  was  large,  any  assailants  would  be  com 
pelled  to  quit  the  cover  of  the  woods  before  they  could 
make  an  approach  sufficiently  near  to  render  them  dan 
gerous. 

Although  the  regular  arms  of  the  regiment  were  mus 
kets,  some  fifty  rifles  were  produced  on  the  present  occa 
sion.  Every  officer  had  one  as  a  part  of  his  private  pro 
vision  for  amusement;  many  belonged  to  the  scouts  and 
friendly  Indians,  of  whom  more  or  less  were  always  hang 
ing  about  the  fort;  and  there  was  a  public  provision  of 


THE  PATHFINDER  151 

them  for  the  use  of  those  who  followed  the  game  with  the 
express  object  of  obtaining  supplies.  Among  those  who 
carried  the  weapon  were  some  five  or  six,  who  had  repu 
tation  for  knowing  how  to  use  it  particularly  well— so 
well,  indeed,  as  to  have  given  them  a  celebrity  on  the 
frontier;  twice  that  number  who  were  believed  to  be  much 
better  than  common;  and  many  who  would  have  been 
thought  expert  in  almost  any  situation  but  the  precise  one 
in  which  they  now  happened  to  be  placed. 

i:;  '  •"•-  -  '•  -•-  :.-'.--"-•.  .  ;  -.-  -  :-..-.  •  -.-.-•  .:  -  •-  ._- 
to  be  used  without  a  rest;  the  target,  a  board,  with  the 
customary  circular  lines  in  white  paint,  having  the  bull's- 
eye  in  the  center.  The  first  trials  in  skill  commenced  with 
challenges  among  the  more  ignoble  of  the  competitors  to 
display  their  steadiness  and  dexterity  in  idle  competition. 
None  but  the  common  men  engaged  in  this  strife,  which 
had  little  to  interest  the  spectators,  among  whom  no  officer 
had  yet  appeared. 

Most  of  the  soldiers  were  Scotch,  the  regiment  having 
been  raised  at  Stirling  and  its  vicinity  not  many  years 
before,  though,  as  in  the  case  of  Sergeant  Dunham,  many 
Americans  had  joined  it  since  its  arrival  in  the  colonies. 
As  a  matter  of  course,  the  provincials  were  generally  the 
most  expert  marksmen;  and  after  a  desultory  trial  of  half 
an  hour  it  was  necessarily  conceded  that  a  youth  who  had 
been  born  in  the  colony  of  New  York,  and  who  coming  of 
Dutch  extraction,  was  the  most  expert  of  all  who  had  yet 
tried  their  skill.  It  was  just  as  this  opinion  prevailed 
that  the  oldest  captain,  accompanied  by  most  of  the  gen 
tlemen  and  ladies  of  the  fort,  appeared  on  the  parade. 
A  train  of  some  twenty  females  of  humbler  condition 
followed,  among  whom  was  seen  the  well-turned  form, 
intelligent,  blooming,  animated  countenance,  and  neat, 
becoming  attire  of  Mabel  Dunham. 

Of  females  who  were  officially  recognized  as  belonging 
to  the  class  of  ladies,  there  were  but  three  in  the  fort, 
all  of  whom  were  officers'  wives;  Mabel  being  strictly,  as 
had  been  stated  by  the  quartermaster,  the  only  real  can 
didate  for  matrimony  among  her  sex. 

Some  little  preparation  had  been  made  for  the  proper 
reception  of  the  females,  who  were  placed  on  a  low  stag- 


152  THE  PATHFINDER 

ing  of  planks  near  the  immediate  bank  of  the  lake.  In 
this  vicinity  the  prizes  were  suspended  from  a  post. 
Great  care  was  taken  to  reserve  the  front  seat  of  the  stage 
for  the  three  ladies  and  their  children;  while  Mabel  and 
those  who  belonged  to  the  non-commissioned  officers  of 
the  regiment,  occupied  the  second.  The  wives  and  daugh 
ters  of  the  privates  were  huddled  together  in  the  rear, 
some  standing  and  some  sitting,  as  they  could  find  room. 
Mabel,  who  had  already  been  admitted  to  the  society  of 
the  officers'  wives,  on  the  footing  of  a  humble  companion, 
was  a  good  deal  noticed  by  the  ladies  in  front,  who  had  a 
proper  appreciation  of  modest  self-respect  and  gentle  re 
finement,  though  they  were  all  fully  aware  of  the  value 
of  rank,  more  particularly  in  a  garrison. 

As  soon  as  this  important  portion  of  the  spectators  had 
got  into  their  places,  Lundie  gave  orders  for  the  trial  of 
skill  to  proceed  in  the  manner  that  had  been  prescribed  in 
his  previous  orders.  Some  eight  or  ten  of  the  best  marks 
men  of  the  garrison  now  took  possession  of  the  stand,  and 
began  to  fire  in  succession.  Among  them  were  officers  and 
men  indiscriminately  placed,  nor  were  the  actual  visitors 
in  the  fort  excluded  from  the  competition. 

As  might  have  been  expected  of  men  whose  amusements 
and  comfortable  subsistence  equally  depended  on  skill  in 
the  use  of  their  weapons,  it  was  soon  found  that  they  were 
all  sufficiently  expert  to  hit  the  bull's-eye,  or  the  white 
spot  in  the  center  of  the  target.  Others  who  succeeded 
them,  it  is  true,  were  less  sure,  their  bullets  striking  in 
the  different  circles  that  surrounded  the  center  of  the 
target  without  touching  it. 

According  to  the  rules  of  the  day,  none  could  proceed 
to  the  second  trial  who  had  failed  in  the  first,  and  the  ad 
jutant  of  the  place,  who  acted  as  master  of  the  ceremo 
nies,  or  marshal  of  the  day,  called  upon  the  successful  ad 
venturers  by  name  to  get  ready  for  the  next  effort,  while 
he  gave  notice  that  those  who  failed  to  present  themselves 
for  the  shot  at  the  bull's-eye  would  necessarily  be  excluded 
from  all  the  higher  trials.  Just  at  this  moment  Lundie, 
the  quartermaster,  and  Jasper  Eau-douce  appeared  in  the 
group  at  the  stand,  while  the  Pathfinder  walked  leisurely 
on  the  ground  without  his  beloved  rifle,  for  him  a  measure 


THE  PATHFINDER  153 

so  unusual,  as  to  be  understood  by  all  present  as  a  proof 
that  he  did  not  consider  himself  a  competitor  for  the 
honors  of  the  day.  All  made  way  for  Major  Duncan,  who, 
as  he  approached  the  stand  in  a  good-humored  way,  took 
his  station,  leveled  his  rifle  carelessly,  and  fired.  The 
bullet  missed  the  required  mark  by  several  inches. 

"Major  Duncan  is  excluded  from  the  other  trials!" 
proclaimed  the  adjutant,  in  a  voice  so  strong  and  confident 
that  all  the  elder  officers  and  the  sergeants  well  understood 
that  this  failure  was  preconcerted,  while  all  the  younger 
gentlemen  and  the  privates  felt  new  encouragement  to 
proceed  on  account  of  the  evident  impartiality  with  which 
the  laws  of  the  sports  were  administered. 

"Now,  Master  Eua-douce,  comes  your  turn,"  said  Muir; 
"and  if  you  do  not  beat  the  major,  I  shall  say  that  your 
hand  is  better  skilled  with  the  oar  than  with  the  rifle." 

Jasper's  handsome  face  flushed,  he  stepped  upon  the 
stand,  cast  a  hasty  glance  at  Mabel,  whose  pretty  form  he 
ascertained  was  bending  eagerly  forward  as  if  to  note  the 
result,  dropped  .the  barrel  of  his  rifle  with  but  little 
apparent  care  into  the  palm  of  his  left  hand,  raised  the 
muzzle  for  a  single  instant  with  exceeding  steadiness,  and 
fired.  The  bullet  passed  directly  through  the  center  of 
the  bull's-eye,  much  the  best  shot  of  the  morning,  since 
the  others  had  merely  touched  the  paint. 

"Well  performed,  Master  Jasper,"  said  Muir,  as  soon 
as  the  result  was  declared;  "and  a  shot  that  might  have 
done  credit  to  an  older  head  and  a  more  experienced  eye. 
I'm  thinking,  notwithstanding,  there  was  some  of  a  young 
ster's  luck  in  it;  for  ye  were  no'  partic'lar  in  the  aim  ye 
took.  Ye  may  be  quick,  Eau-douce,  in  the  movement, 
but  yer  not  philosophic  nor  scientific  in  yer  management 
of  the  weepon.  Now,  Sergeant  Dunham,  I'll  thank  you 
to  request  the  ladies  to  give  a  closer  attention  than  com 
mon;  for  I'm  about  to  make  that  use  of  the  rifle  which 
may  be  called  the  intellectual.  Jasper  would  have  killed, 
I  allow;  but  then  there  would  not  have  been  half  the  sat 
isfaction  in  receiving  such  a  shot  as  in  receiving  one  that 
is  discharged  scientifically." 

All  this  time  the  quartermaster  was  preparing  himself 
for  the  scientific  trial;  but  he  delayed  his  aim  until  he  saw 


154  THE  PATHFINDER 

that  the  eye  of  Mabel,  in  common  with  those  of  her  com 
panions,  was  fastened  on  him  incuriosity.  As  the  others 
left  him  room,  out  of  respect  to  his  rank,  no  one  stood 
near  the  competitor  but  his  commanding  officer,  to  whom 
he  now  said  in  his  familiar  manner: 

"Ye  see,  Lundie,  that  something  is  to  be  gained  by 
exciting  a  female's  curiosity.  It's  an  active  sentiment 
is  curiosity,  and  properly  improved  may  lead  to  gentler 
innovations  in  the  end." 

"Very  true,  Davy;  but  ye  keep  us  all  waiting  while  ye 
make  your  preparations;  and  here  is  Pathfinder  drawing 
near  to  catch  a  lesson  from  your  greater  experience." 

"Well,  Pathfinder,  and  so  you  have  come  to  get  an  idea, 
too,  concerning  the  philosophy  of  shooting?  I  do  not  wish 
to  hide  my  light  under  a  bushel,  and  yer  welcome  to  all 
ye'll  learn.  Do  ye  no'  mean  to  try  a  shot  yersel',  man?" 

"Why  should  I,  quartermaster,  why  should  I?  I  want 
none  of  the  prizes;  and  as  for  honor,  I  have  had  enough 
of  that,  if  it's  any  honor  to  shoot  better  than  yourself. 
I'm  not  a  woman  to  wear  a  calash." 

"Very  true;  but  ye  might  find  a  woman  that  is  precious 
in  your  eyes  to  wear  it  for  ye,  as — 

"Come,  Davy,"  interrupted  the  major,  "your  shot  or 
a  retreat.  The  adjutant  is  getting  impatient." 

"The  quartermaster's  department  and  the  adjutant's 
department  are  seldom  compliable,  Lundie;  but  I'm  ready. 
Stand  a  little  aside,  Pathfinder,  and  give  the  ladies  an 
opportunity." 

Lieutenant  Muir  now  took  his  attitude  with  a  good  deal 
of  studied  elegance,  raised  his  rifle  slowly,  lowered  it, 
raised  it  again,  repeated  the  maneuvers,  and  fired. 

"Missed  the  target  altogether!"  shouted  the  man 
whose  duty  it  was  to  mark  the  bullets,  and  who  had  little 
relish  for  the  quartermaster's  tedious  science.  "Missed 
the  target!" 

"It  cannot  be!"  cried  Muir,  his  face  flushing  equally 
with  indignation  and  shame;  "it  cannot  be,  adjutant;  for 
I  never  did  so  awkward  a  thing  in  my  life.  I  appeal  to 
the  ladies  for  a  juster  judgment." 

"The  ladies  shut  their  eyes  when  you  fired!"  exclaimed 
the  regimental  wags.  "Your  preparations  alarmed  them. ' ' 


THE  PATHFINDER  155 

"I  will  na  believe  such  calumny  of  the  leddies,  nor  sic' 
a  reproach  on  my  own  skill,"  returned  the  quartermaster, 
growing  more  and  more  Scotch  as  he  warmed  with  his 
feelings;  "it's  a  conspiracy  to  rob  a  meritorious  man  of 
his  dues." 

"It's  a  dead  miss,  Muir,"  said  the  laughing  Lundie, 
"and  ye'll  jist  sit  down  quietly  with  the  disgrace." 

"No,  no,  major,"  Pathfinder  at  length  observed;  "the 
quartermaster  is  a  good  shot  for  a  slow  one  and  a  meas 
ured  distance,  though  nothing  extr'ornary  for  real  service. 
He  has  covered  Jasper's  bullet,  as  will  be  seen,  if  any  one 
will  take  the  trouble  to  examine  the  target." 

The  respect  for  Pathfinder's  skill  and  for  his  quickness 
and  accuracy  of  sight  was  so  profound  and  general,  that, 
the  instant  he  made  this  declaration,  the  spectators  began 
to  distrust  their  own  opinions,  and  a  dozen  rushed  to  the 
target  in  order  to  ascertain  the  fact.  There,  sure  enough, 
it  was  found  that  the  quartermaster's  bullet  had  gone 
through  the  hole  made  by  Jasper's,  and  that,  too,  so  ac 
curately  as  to  require  a  minute  examination  to  be  certain 
of  the  circumstance;  which,  however,  was  soon  clearly 
established,  by  discovering  one  bullet  over  the  other  in 
the  stump  against  which  the  target  was  placed. 

"I  told  ye,  ladies,  ye  were  about  to  witness  the  influ 
ence  of  science  on  gunnery,"  said  the  quartermaster, 
advancing  towards  the  staging  occupied  by  the  females. 
"Major  Duncan  derides  the  idea  of  mathematics  entering 
into  target-shooting;  but  I  tell  him  philosophy  colors,  and 
enlarges,  and  improves,  and  dilates,  and  explains  every 
thing  that  belongs  to  human  life,  whether  it  be  a  shooting 
match  or  a  sermon.  In  a  word,  philosophy  is  philosophy, 
and  that  is  saying  all  that  the  subject  requires." 

"I  trust  you  exclude  love  from  the  catalogue, ' '  observed 
the  wife  of  a  captain  who  knew  the  history  of  the  quar 
termaster's  marriages,  and  who  had  a  woman's  malice 
against  the  monopolizer  of  her  sex;  "it  seems  that  phil 
osophy  has  little  in  common  with  love." 

"You  wouldn't  say  that,  madam,  if  your  heart  had  ex 
perienced  many  trials.  It's  the  man  or  the  woman  that 
has  had  many  occasions  to  improve  the  affection  that 
can  best  speak  of  such  matters;  and,  believe  me,  of  all 


156  THE  PATHFINDER 

love,  philosophical  is  the  most  lasting,  as  it  is  the  most 
rational." 

"You  would  then  recommend  experience  as  an  improve 
ment  on  the  passion?" 

"Your  quick  mind  has  conceived  the  idea  at  a  glance. 
The  happiest  marriages  are  those  in  which  youth  and 
beauty  and  confidence  on  one  side,  rely  on  the  sagacity, 
moderation,  and  prudence  of  years — middle  age,  I  mean, 
madam,  for  I'll  no'  deny  that  there  is  such  a  thing  as  a 
husband's  being  too  old  for  a  wife.  Here  is  Sergeant 
Dunham's  charming  daughter,  now,  to  approve  of  such 
sentiments,  I'm  certain;  her  character  for  discretion  be 
ing  already  well  established  in  the  garrison,  short  as  has 
been  her  residence  among  us." 

"Sergeant  Dunham's  daughter  is  scarcely  a  fitting  in 
terlocutor  in  a  discourse  between  you  and  me,  Lieutenant 
Muir, "  rejoined  the  captain's  lady,  with  careful  respect 
for  her  own  dignity;  "and  yonder  is  the  Pathfinder  about 
to  take  his  chance,  by  way  of  changing  the  subject." 

"I  protest,  Major  Duncan,  I  protest,"  cried  Muir, 
hurrying  back  towards  the  stand,  with  both  arms  elevated 
by  way  of  enforcing  his  words,  "I  protest  in  the  strong 
est  terms,  gentlemen,  against  Pathfinder's  being  admitted 
into  these  sports  with  Killdeer,  which  is  a  piece,  to  say 
nothing  of  long  habit,  that  is  altogether  out  of  proportion 
for  a  trial  of  skill  against  Government  rifles."' 

"Killdeer  is  taking  its  rest,  quartermaster,"  returned 
Pathfinder  calmly,  "and  no  one  here  thinks  of  disturbing 
it.  I  did  not  think,  myself,  of  pulling  a  trigger  to-day; 
but  Sergeant  Dunham  has  been  persuading  me  that  I  shall 
not  do  proper  honor  to  his  handsome  daughter,  who  came 
in  under  my  care,  if  I  am  backward  on  such  an  occasion. 
I'm  using  Jasper's  rifle,  quartermaster,  as  you  may  see, 
and  that  is  no  better  than  your  own." 

Lieutenant  Muir  was  now  obliged  to  acquiesce,  and 
every  eye  turned  towards  the  Pathfinder,  as  he  took  the 
required  station.  The  air  and  attitude  of  this  celebrated 
guide  and  hunter  were  extremely  fine,  as  he  raised  his  tall 
form  and  leveled  the  piece,  showing  perfect  self-command, 
and  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  power  of  the  human 
frame  as  well  as  of  the  weapon.  Pathfinder  was  not  what 


THE  PATHFINDER  157 

is  usually  termed  a  handsome  man,  though  his  appearance 
excited  so  much  confidence  and  commanded  respect.  Tall, 
and  even  muscular,  his  frame  might  have  been  esteemed 
nearly  perfect,  were  it  not  for  the  total  absence  of  every 
thing  like  flesh.  Whipcord  was  scarcely  more  rigid  than 
his  arms  and  legs,  or,  at  need,  more  pliable;  but  the  out 
lines  of  his  person  were  rather  too  angular  for  the  propor 
tion  that  the  eye  most  approves.  Still,  his  motions,  being 
natural,  were  graceful,  and,  being  calm  and  regulated, 
they  gave  him  an  air  and  dignity  that  associated  well  with 
the  idea,  which  was  so  prevalent,  of  his  services  and  pe 
culiar  merits.  His  honest,  open  features  were  burnt  to  a 
bright  red,  that  comported  well  with  the  notion  of  expos 
ure  and  hardships,  while  his  sinewy  hands  denoted  force 
and  a  species  of  use  removed  from  the  stiffening  and  de 
forming  effects  of  labor.  Although  no  one  perceived  any 
of  those  gentler  or  more  insinuating  qualities  which  are 
apt  to  win  upon  a  woman'  affections,  as  he  raised  his  rifle 
not  a  female  eye  was  fastened  on  him  without  a  silent 
approbation  of  the  freedom  of  his  movements  and  the 
manliness  of  his  air.  Thought  was  scarcely  quicker  than 
his  aim;  and,  as  the  smoke  floated  above  his  head,  the 
butt-end  of  the  rifle  was  seen  on  the  ground,  the  hand  of 
the  Pathfinder  was  leaning  on  the  barrel,  and  his  honest 
countenance  was  illuminated  by  his  usual  silent,  hearty 
laugh. 

"If  one  dared  to  hint  at  such  a  thing,"  cried  Major 
Duncan,  "I  should  say  that  the  Pathfinder  had  also  missed 
the  target. ' ' 

"No,  no,  major,"  returned  the  guide  confidently;  "that 
would  be  a  risky  declaration.  I  didn't  load  the  piece,  and 
can't  say  what  was  in  it;  but  if  it  was  lead,  you  will  find 
the  bullet  driving  down  those  of  the  quartermaster  and 
Jasper,  else  is  not  my  name  Pathfinder." 

A  shout  from  the  target  announced  the  truth  of  this 


"That's  not  all,  that's  not  all,  boys,"  called  out  the 
guide  who  was  now  slowly  advancing  towards  the  stage 
occupied  by  the  females;  "if  you  find  the  target  touched 
at  all,  I'll  own  to  a  miss.  The  quartermaster  or  the 
wood,  but  you'll  find  no  wood  cut  by  that  last  messenger. 


158  THE  PATHFINDER 

"Very  true,  Pathfinder,  very  true,"  answered  Muir, 
who  was  lingering  near  Mabel,  though  ashamed  to  address 
her  particularly  in  the  presence  of  the  officers'  wives. 
"The  quartermaster  did  cut  the  wood,  and  by  that  means 
he  opened  a  passage  for  your  bullet,  which  went  through 
the  hole  he  had  made." 

"Well,  quartermaster,  there  goes  the  nail  and  we'll 
see  who  can  drive  it  closer,  you  or  I;  for,  though  I  did 
not  think  of  showing  what  a  rifle  can  do  to-day,  now  my 
hand  is  in,  I'll  turn  my  back  to  no  man  that  carries  King 
George's  commission.  Chingachgook  is  outlying,  or  he 
might  force  me  into  some  of  the  niceties  of  the  art;  but, 
as  for  you,  quartermaster,  if  the  nail  don't  stop  you,  the 
potato  will." 

"You're  over  boastful  this  morning,  Pathfinder;  but 
you'll  find  you've  no  green  boy  fresh  from  the  settlements 
and  the  towns  to  deal  with,  I  will  assure  ye!" 

"I  know  that  well,  quartermaster;  I  know  that  well, 
and  shall  not  deny  your  experience.  You've  lived  many 
years  on  the  frontiers,  and  I've  heard  of  you  in  the  col 
onies,  and  among  the  Indians,  too,  quite  a  human  life 
ago." 

"Na,  na, "  interrupted  Muir  in  his  broadest  Scotch, 
"this  is  injustice,  man.  I've  no'  lived  so  very  long, 
neither." 

"I'll  do  you  justice,  lieutenant,  even  if  you  get  the 
best  in  the  potato  trial.  I  say  you've  passed  a  good  human 
life,  for  a  soldier,  in  places  where  the  rifle  is  daily  used, 
and  I  know  you  are  a  creditable  and  ingenious  marksman; 
but  then  you  are  not  a  true  rifle-shooter.  As  for  boasting, 
I  hope  I'm  not  a  vain  talker  about  my  own  exploits;  but 
a  man's  gifts  are  his  gifts,  and  it's  flying  in  the  face  of 
Providence  to  deny  them.  The  sergeant's  daughter,  here, 
shall  judge  between  us,  if  you  have  the  stomach  to  submit 
to  so  pretty  a  judge." 

The  Pathfinder  had  named  Mabel  as  the  arbiter  because 
he  admired  her,  and  because,  in  his  eyes,  rank  had  little  or 
no  value;  but  Lieutenant  Muir  shrank  at  such  a  reference 
in  the  presence  of  the  wives  of  the  officers.  He  would 
gladly  keep  himself  constantly  before  the  eyes  and  the 
imagination  of  the  object  of  his  wishes;  but  he  was  still 


,   THE  PATHFINDER  159 

too  much  under  the  influence  of  old  prejudices,  and  per 
haps  too  wary,  to  appear  openly  as  her  suitor,  unless  he 
saw  something  very  like  a  certainty  of  success.  On  the 
discretion  of  Major  Duncan  he  had  a  full  reliance,  and  he 
apprehended  no  betrayal  from  that  quarter;  but  he  was 
quite  aware,  should  it  ever  get  abroad  that  he  had  been 
refused  by  the  child  of  a  non-commissioned  officer,  he 
would  find  great  difficulty  in  making  his  approaches  to 
any  other  woman  of  a  condition  to  which  he  might  reason 
ably  aspire.  Notwithstanding  these  doubts  and  misgiv 
ings,  Mabel  looked  so  prettily,  blushed  so  charmingly, 
smiled  so  sweetly,  and  altogether  presented  so  winning  a 
picture  of  youth,  spirit,  modesty,  and  beauty,  that  he 
found  it  exceedingly  tempting  to  be  kept  so  prominently 
before  her  imagination,  and  to  be  able  to  address  her 
freely. 

"You  shall  have  it  your  own  way,  Pathfinder,"  he  an 
swered,  as  soon  as  his  doubts  had  settled  down  into  deter 
mination;  "let  the  sergeant's  daughter — his  charming 
daughter,  I  should  have  termed  her — be  the  umpire  then; 
and  to  her  we  will  both  dedicate  the  prize,  that  one  or  the 
other  must  certainly  win.  Pathfinder  must  be  humored, 
ladies,  as  you  perceive,  else,  no  doubt,  we  should  not  have 
had  the  honor  to  submit  ourselves  to  one  of  your  charming 
society." 

A  call  for  the  competitors  now  drew  the  quartermaster 
and  his  adversary  away,  and  in  a  few  moments  the  second 
trial  of  skill  commenced.  A  common  wrought  nail  was 
driven  lightly  into  the  target,  its  head  having  been  first 
touched  with  paint,  and  the  marksman  was  required  to 
hit  it,  or  he  lost  his  chances  in  the  succeeding  trials.  No 
one  was  permitted  to  enter,  on  this  occasion,  who  had 
already  failed  in  the  essay  against  the  bull's-eye. 

There  might  have  been  half-a-dozen  aspirants  for  the 
honors  of  this  trial;  one  or  two,  who  had  barely  succeeded 
in  touching  the  spot  of  paint  in  the  previous  strife,  pre 
ferring  to  rest  their  reputations  there,  feeling  certain 
that  they  could  not  succeed  in  the  greater  effort  that  was 
now  exacted  of  them.  The  first  three  adventurers  failed, 
all  coming  very  near  the  mark,  but  neither  touching  it. 
The  fourth  person  who  presented  himself  was  the  quarter- 


160  THE  PATHFINDER 

master,  who,  after  going  through  his  usual  attitudes,  so 
far  succeeded  as  to  carry  away  a  small  portion  of  the  head 
of  the  nail,  planting  his  bullet  by  the  side  of  its  point. 
This  was  not  considered  an  extraordinary  shot,  though  it 
brought  the  adventurer  within  the  category. 

"You've  saved  your  bacon,  quartermaster,  as  they  say 
in  the  settlements  of  their  creatur's, "  cried  Pathfinder, 
laughing;  "but  it  would  take  a  long  time  to  build  a  house 
with  a  hammer  no  better  than  yours.  Jasper,  here,  will 
show  you  how  a  nail  is  to  be  started,  or  the  lad  has  lost 
some  of  his  steadiness  of  hand  and  sartainty  of  eye.  You 
would  have  done  better  yourself,  lieutenant,  had  you  not 
been  so  much  bent  on  soldierizing  your  figure.  Shooting 
is  a  natural  gift,  and  is  to  be  exercised  in  a  natural  way." 

"We  shall  see,  Pathfinder;  I  call  that  a  pretty  attempt 
at  a  nail;  and  I  doubt  if  the  55th  has  another  hammer, 
as  you  call  it,  that  can  do  just  the  same  thing  over  again. " 

"Jasper  is  not  in  the  55th,  but  there  goes  his  rap." 

As  the  Pathfinder  spoke,  the  bullet  of  Eau-douce  hit  the 
nail  square,  and  drove  it  into  the  target,  within  an  inch 
of  the  head. 

"Be  all  ready  to  clench  it,  boys!"  cried  out  Pathfinder, 
stepping  into  his  friend's  tracks  the  instant  they  were 
vacant.  "Never  mind  a  new  nail;  I  can  see  that,  though 
the  paint  is  gone,  and  what  I  can  see  I  can  hit,  at  a  hun 
dred  yards,  though  it  were  only  a  mosquito's  eye.  Be 
ready  to  clench!" 

The  rifle  cracked,  the  bullet  sped  its  way,  and  the  head 
of  the  nail  was  buried  in  the  wood,  covered  by  the  piece 
of  flattened  lead. 

"Well,  Jasper,  lad,"  continued  Pathfinder,  dropping  the 
butt-end  of  his  rifle  to  the  ground,  and  resuming  the  dis 
course,  as  if  he  thought  nothing  of  his  own  exploit,  "you 
improve  daily.  A  few  more  tramps  on  land  in  my  com 
pany,  and  the  best  marksman  on  the  frontiers  will  have 
occasion  to  look  keenly  when  he  takes  his  stand  ag'in  you. 
The  quartermaster  is  respectable,  but  he  will  never  get 
any  farther;  whereas  you,  Jasper,  have  the  gift,  and  may 
one  day  defy  any  who  pull  trigger." 

"Hoot,  hoot!"  exclaimed  Muir;  "do  you  call  hitting 
the  head  of  the  nail  respectable  only,  when  it's  the  per- 


THE  PATHFINDER  161 

fection  of  the  art?  Any  one  the  least  refined  and  elevated 
in  sentiment  knows  that  the  delicate  touches  denote  the 
master;  whereas  your  sledge-hammer  blows  come  from 
the  rude  and  uninstructed.  If  'a  miss  is  as  good  as  a 
mile, '  a  hit  ought  to  be  better,  Pathfinder,  whether  it 
wound  or  kill." 

"The  surest  way  of  settling  this  rivalry  will  be  to  make 
another  trial,"  observed  Lundie,  "and  that  will  be  of  the 
potato.  You're  Scotch,  Mr.  Muir,  and  might  fare  better 
were  it  a  cake  or  a  thistle;  but  frontier  law  has  declared 
for  the  American  fruit,  and  the  potato  it  shall  be." 

As  Major  Duncan  manifested  some  impatience  of  man 
ner,  Muir  had  too  much  tact  to  delay  the  sports  any  longer 
with  his  discussive  remarks,  but  judiciously  prepared  him 
self  for  the  next  appeal.  To  say  the  truth,  the  quarter 
master  had  little  or  no  faith  in  his  own  success  in  the 
trial  of  skill  that  was  to  follow,  nor  would  he  have  been 
so  free  in  presenting  himself  as  a  competitor  at  all  had 
he  anticipated  it  would  have  been  made;  but  Major  Dun 
can,  who  was  somewhat  of  a  humorist  in  his  own  quiet 
Scotch  way,  had  secretly  ordered  it  to  be  introduced  ex 
pressly  to  mortify  him;  for,  a  laird  himself,  Lundie  did 
not  relish  the  notion  that  one  who  might  claim  to  be  a 
gentleman  should  bring  discredit  on  his  caste  by  forming 
an  unequal  alliance.  As  soon  as  everything  was  prepared, 
Muir  was  summoned  to  the  stand,  and  the  potato  was  held 
in  readiness  to  be  thrown.  As  the  sort  of  feat  we  are 
about  to  offer  to  the  reader,  however,  may  be  new  to  him, 
a  word  in  explanation  will  render  the  matter  more  clear. 
A  potato  of  large  size  was  selected,  and  given  to  one  who 
stood  at  the  distance  of  twenty  yards  from  the  stand.  At 
the  word  "heave!"  which  was  given  by  the  marksman, 
the  vegetable  was  thrown  with  a  gentle  toss  into  the  air, 
and  it  was  the  business  of  the  adventurer  to  cause  a  ball 
to  pass  through  it  before  it  reached  the  ground.  The 
quartermaster,  in  a  hundred  experiments,  had  once  suc 
ceeded  in  accomplishing  this  difficult  feat;  but  he  now 
essayed  to  perform  it  again,  with  a  sort  of  blind  hope  that 
was  fated  to  be  disappointed.  The  potato  was  thrown  in 
the  usual  manner,  the  rifle  was  discharged,  but  the  flying 
target  was  untouched. 
11 


162  THE  PATHFINDER 

"To  the  right-about,  and  fall  out,  quartermaster," 
said  Lundie,  smiling  at  the  success  of  the  artifice.  "The 
honor  of  the  silken  calash  will  lie  between  Jasper  Eau- 
douce  and  Pathfinder. ' ' 

"And  how  is  the  trial  to  end,  major?"  inquired  the 
latter.  "Are  we  to  have  the  two-potato  trial,  or  is  it  to 
be  settled  by  center  and  skin?" 

"By  center  and  skin,  if  there  is  any  perceptible  differ 
ence;  otherwise  the  double  shot  must  follow." 

'  'This  is  an  awful  moment  to  me,  Pathfinder, ' '  observed 
Jasper,  as  he  moved  towards  the  stand,  his  face  actually 
losing  its  color  in  intensity  of  feeling. 

Pathfinder  gazed  earnestly  at  the  young  man ;  and  then, 
begging  Major  Duncan  to  have  patience  for  a  moment,  he 
led  his  friend  out  of  the  hearing  of  all  near  him  before 
he  spoke. 

"You  seem  to  take  this  matter  to  heart,  Jasper?"  the 
hunter  remarked,  keeping  his  eyes  fastened  on  those  of 
the  youth. 

"I  must  own,  Pathfinder,  that  my  feelings  were  never 
before  so  much  bound  up  in  success. ' ' 

"And  do  you  so  much  crave  to  outdo  me,  an  old  and 
tried  friend ?• — and  that,  as  it  might  be,  in  my  own  way? 
Shooting  is  my  gift,  boy,  and  no  common  hand  can  equal 
mine." 

"I  know  it — I  know  it,  Pathfinder;  but  yet — 

"But  what,  Jasper,  boy? — speak  freely;  you  talk  to  a 
friend." 

The  young  man  compressed  his  lips,  dashed  a  hand  across 
his  eye,  and  flushed  and  paled  alternately,  like  a  girl  con 
fessing  her  love.  Then,  squeezing  the  other's  hand,  he 
said  calmly,  like  one  whose  manhood  has  overcome  all 
other  sensations,  "I  would  lose  an  arm,  Pathfinder,  to  be 
able  to  make  an  offering  of  that  calash  to  Mabel  Dunham. ' ' 

The  hunter  dropped  his  eyes  to  the  ground,  and  as  he 
walked  slowly  back  towards  the  stand,  he  seemed  to  ponder 
deeply  on  what  he  had  just  heard. 

"You  never  could  succeed  in  the  double  trial,  Jasper!" 
he  suddenly  remarked. 

"Of  that  I  am  certain,  and  it  troubles  me." 

"What  a  creature  is  mortal  man!  he  pines  for  things 


THE  PATHFINDER  163 

which  are  not  of  his  gift,  and  treats  the  bounties  of  Prov 
idence  lightly.  No  matter,  no  matter,  Take  your  station, 
Jasper,  for  the  major  is  waiting;  and  harkee,  lad — I  must 
touch  the  skin,  for  I  could  not  show  my  face  in  the  garri 
son  with  less  than  that." 

"I  suppose  I  must  submit  to  my  fate, "  returned  Jasper, 
flushing  and  losing  his  color  as  before;  "but  I  will  make 
the  effort,  if  I  die." 

.  "What  a  thing  is  mortal  man!"  repeated  Pathfinder, 
falling  back  to  allow  his  friend  room  to  take  his  aim,  "he 
overlooks  his  own  gifts,  and  craves  those  of  another!" 
i'  The  potato  was  thrown,  Jasper  fired,  and  the  shout  that 
followed  preceded  the  announcement  of  the  fact  that  he 
had  driven  his  bullet  through  its  center,  or  so  nearly  so 
as  to  merit  that  award. 

"Here  is  a  competitor  worthy  of  you,  Pathfinder," 
cried  Major  Duncan  with  delight,  as  the  former  took  his 
station,  "and  we  may  look  to  some  fine  shooting  in  the 
double  trial." 

"What  a  thing  is  mortal  man!"  repeated  the  hunter, 
scarcely  seeming  to  notice  what  was  passing  around  him, 
so  much  were  his  thoughts  absorbed  in  his^own  reflections. 

"Toss!" 

The  potato  was  tossed,  the  rifle  cracked — it  was  re 
marked  just  as  the  little  black  ball  seemed  stationary  in 
the  air,  for  the  marksman  evidently  took  unusual  heed  to 
his  aim — and  then  a  look  of  disappointment  and  wonder 
succeeded  among  those  who  caught  the  falling  target. 

"Two  holes  in  one?"  called  out  the  major. 
j     "The   skin,    the   skin!"    was   the   answer    "only   the 
skin!" 

"How's  this,  Pathfinder?  Is  Jasper  Eau-douce  to  carry 
off  the  honors  of  the  day?" 

I  "The  calash  is  his, ' '  returned  the  other,  shaking  his  head 
and  walking  quietly  away  from  the  stand.  "What  a  crea 
ture  is  mortal  man!  never  satisfied  with  his  own  gifts,  but 
for  ever  craving  that  which  Providence  denies!'1 

As  Pathfinder  had  not  buried  his  bullet  in  the  potato, 
but  had  cut  through  the  skin,  the  prize  was  immediately 
adjudged  to  Jasper.  The  calash  was  in  the  hands  of  the 
latter  when  the  quartermaster  approached,  and  with  a 


164  THE  PATHFINDER 

polite  air  of  cordiality  he  wished  his  successful  rival  joy 
of  his  victory. 

"But  now  you've  got  the  calash,  lad,  it's  of  no  use  to 
you,"  he  added  "it  will  never  make  a  sail,  nor  even  an 
ensign.  I'm  thinking,  Eau-douce,  you'd  no'  be  sorry  to 
see  its  value  in  good  siller  of  the  king?" 

"Money  cannot  buy  it,  lieutenant,"  returned  Jasper, 
whose  eye  lighted  with  all  the  fire  of  success  and  joy.  "I 
would  rather  have  won  this  calash  than  have  obtained  fifty 
new  suits  of  sails  for  the  Scud!" 

"Hoot,  hoot,  lad!  you  are  going  mad  like  all  the  rest 
of  them.  I'd  even  venture  to  offer  half  a  guinea  for  the 
trifle  rather  than  it  should  lie  kicking  about  in  the  cabin 
of  your  cutter,  and  in  the  end  become  an  ornament  for  the 
head  of  a  squaw. ' ' 

Although  Jasper  did  not  know  that  the  wary  quarter 
master  had  not  offered  half  the  actual  cost  of  the  prize, 
he  heard  the  proposition  with  indifference.  Shaking  his 
head  in  the  negative,  he  advanced  towards  the  stage,  where 
his  approach  excited  a  little  commotion,  the  officers'  ladies, 
one  and  all,  having  determined  to  accept  the  present, 
should  the  gallantry  of  the  young  sailor  induce  him  to 
offer  it.  But  Jasper's  diffidence,  no  less  than  admiration 
for  another,  would  have  prevented  him  from  aspiring  to 
the  honor  of  complimenting  any  whom  he  thought  so  much 
his  superiors. 

"Mabel,"  said  he,  "this  prize  is  for  you,  unless — 

"Unless  what,  Jasper?"  answered  the  girl,  losing  her 
own  bashfulness  in  the  natural  and  generous  wish  to  re 
lieve  his  embarrassment,  though  both  reddened  in  a  way 
to  betray  strong  feeling. 

"Unless  you  may  think  too  indifferently  of  it,  because 
it  is  offered  by  one  who  may  have  no  right  to  believe  his 
gift  will  be  accepted." 

"I  do  accept  it,  Jasper;  and  it  shall  be  a  sign  of  the 
danger  I  have  passed  in  your  company,  and  of  the  grati 
tude  I  feel  for  your  care  of  me — your  care,  and  that  of 
the  Pathfinder." 

"Never  mind  me,  never  mind  me!"  exclaimed  the  lat 
ter;  "this  is  Jasper's  luck,  and  Jasper's  gift;  give  him 
full  credit  for  both.  My  turn  may  come  another  day; 


THE  PATHFINDER  165 

mine  and  the  quartermaster's,  who  seems  to  grudge  the 
boy  the  calash;  though  what  he  can  want  of  it  I  cannot 
understand,  for  he  has  no  wife." 

"And  has  Jasper  Eau-douce  a  wife?  or  have  you  a  wife 
yoursel',  Pathfinder?  I  may  want  it  to  help  to  get  a 
wife,  or  as  a  memorial  that  I  have  had  a  wife,  or  as  proof 
how  much  I  admire  the  sex,  or  because  it  is  a  female 
garment,  or  for  some  other  equally  respectable  motive. 
It's  not  the  unreflecting  that  are  the  most  prized  by  the 
thoughtful,  and  there  is  no  surer  sign  that  a  man  made  a 
good  husband  to  his  first  consort,  let  me  tell  you  all,  than 
to  see  him  speedily  looking  round  for  a  competent  succes 
sor.  The  affections  are  good  gifts  from  Providence,  and 
they  that  have  loved  one  faithfully  prove  how  much  of 
this  bounty  has  been  lavished  upon  them  by  loving  another 
as  soon  as  possible." 

"It  may  be  so,  it  may  be  so.  I  am  no  practitioner  in 
such  things,  and  cannot  gainsay  it.  But  Mabel  here,  the 
sergeant's  daughter,  will  give  you  full  credit  for  the 
words.  Come,  Jasper,  although  our  hands  are  out,  let  us 
see  what  the  other  lads  can  do  with  the  rifle." 

Pathfinder  and  his  companions  retired,  for  the  sports 
were  about  to  proceed.  The  ladies,  however,  were  not 
so  much  engrossed  with  rifle  shooting  as  to  neglect  the 
calash.  It  passed  from  hand  to  hand;  the  silk  was  felt, 
the  fashion  criticized,  and  the  work  examined,  and  divers 
opinions  were  privately  ventured  concerning  the  fitness 
of  so  handsome  a  thing  passing  into  the  possession  of  a 
non-commissioned  officer's  child. 

"Perhaps  you  will  be  disposed  to  sell  that  calash,  Mabel, 
when  it  has  been  a  short  time  in  your  possession?"  in 
quired  the  captain's  lady.  "Wear  it,  I  should  think,  you 
never  can." 

"I  may  not  wear  it,  madam,"  returned  our  heroine 
modestly;  "but  I  should  not  like  to  part  with  it  either.' 

"I  daresay  Sergeant  Dunham  keeps  you  above  the  ne 
cessity  of  selling  your  clothes,  child;  but,  at  the  same 
time,  it  is  money  thrown  away  to  keep  an  article  of  dress 
you  can  never  wear. 

"I  should  be  unwilling  to  part  with  the  gift  of  a  friend. 

"But  the  young  man  himself  will  think  all  the  better  of 


166  THE  PATHFINDER 

you  for  your  prudence  after  the  triumph  of  the  day  is 
forgotten.  It  is  a  pretty  and  a  becoming  calash,  and 
ought  not  to  be  thrown  away. ' ' 

"I've  no  intention  to  throw  it  away,  ma'am;  and,  if 
you  please,  would  rather  keep  it." 

"As  you  will,  child;  girls  of  your  age  often  overlook 
their  real  advantages.  Remember,  however,  if  you  do 
determine  to  dispose  of  the  thing,  that  it  is  bespoke,  and 
that  I  will  not  take  it  if  you  ever  even  put  it  on  your  own 
head." 

"Yes,  ma'am,"  said  Mabel,  in  the  meekest  voice  im 
aginable,  though  her  eye  looked  like  diamonds,  and  her 
cheeks  reddened  to  the  tints  of  two  roses,  as  she  placed 
the  forbidden  garment  over  her  well-turned  shoulders, 
where  she  kept  it  a  minute,  as  if  to  try  its  fitness,  and 
then  quietly  removed  it  again. 

The  remainder  of  the  sports  offered  nothing  of  interest. 
The- shooting  was  reasonably  good;  but  the  trials  were  all 
of  a  scale  lower  than  those  related,  and  the  competitors 
were  soon  left  to  themselves.  The  ladies  and  most  of  the 
officers  withdrew,  and  the  remainder  of  the  females  soon 
followed  their  example.  Mabel  was  returning  along  the 
low  flat  rocks  that  line  the  shore  of  the  lake,  dangling  her 
pretty  calash  from  a  prettier  finger,  when  Pathfinder  met 
her.  He  carried  the  rifle  which  he  had  used  that  day;  but 
his  manner  had  less  of  the  frank  ease  of  the  hunter 
about  it  than  usual,  while  his  eye  seemed  roving  and  un 
easy.  After  a  few  unmeaning  words  concerning  the  noble 
sheet  of  water  before  them,  he  turned  towards  his  com 
panion  with  strong  interest  in  his  countenance,  and  said: 

"Jasper  earned  that  calash  for  you,  Mabel,  without 
much  trial  of  his  gifts." 

"It  was  fairly  done,  Pathfinder." 

"No  doubt,  no  doubt.  The  bullet  passed  neatly  through 
the  potato,  and  no  man  could  have  done  more;  though 
others  might  have  done  as  much." 

"But  no  one  did  as  much!"  exclaimed  Mabel,  with  an 
animation  that  she  instantly  regretted;  for  for  she  saw  by 
the  pained  look  of  the  guide  that  he  was  mortified  equally 
by  the  remark  and  by  the  feeling  with  which  it  was 
uttered. 


THE  PATHFINDER  167 

"It  is  true,  it  is  true,  Mabel,  no  one  did  as  much  then- 
but— yet  there  is  no  reason  I  should  deny  my  gifts  which 
come  from  Providence— yes,  yes;  no  one  did  as  much 
there,  but  you  shall  know  what  can  be  done  here.  Do 
you  observe  the  gulls  that  are  flying  over  our  heads?" 

"Certainly,  Pathfinder;  there  are  too  many  to  escape 
notice." 

"Here,  where  they  cross  each  other  in  sailing  about," 
he  added,  cocking  and  raising  his  rifle;  "the  two — the 
two.  Now  look!" 

The  piece  was  presented  quick  as  thought,  as  two  of  the 
birds  came  in  a  line,  though  distant  from  each  other  many 
yards;  the  report  followed,  and  the  bullet  passed  through 
the  bodies  of  both  the  victims.  No  sooner  had  the  gulls 
fallen  into  the  lake,  than  Pathfinder  dropped  the  butt-end 
of  the  rifle,  and  laughed  in  his  own  peculiar  manner,  every 
shade  of  dissatisfaction  and  mortified  pride  having  left 
his  honest  face. 

"That  is  something,  Mabel,  that  is  something;  although 
I  have  no  calash  to  give  you!  But  ask  Jasper  himself; 
I'll  leave  it  all  to  Jasper,  for  a  truer  tongue  and  heart  are 
not  in  America." 

"Then  it  was  not  Jasper's  fault  that  he  gained  the 
prize?" 

"Not  it.  He  did  his  best,  and  he  did  well.  For  one 
that  has  water  gifts,  rather  than  land  gifts,  Jasper  is  un 
commonly  expert,  and  a  better  backer  no  one  need  wish, 
ashore  or  afloat.  But  it  was  my  fault,  Mabel,  that  he  got 
the  calash;  though  it  makes  no  difference — it  makes  no 
difference,  for  the  thing  has  gone  to  the  right  person." 

"I  believe  I  understand  you,  Pathfinder,"  said  Mabel, 
blushing  in  spite  of  herself,  "and  I  look  upon  the  calash 
as  the  joint  gift  of  yourself  and  Jasper." 

"That  would  not  be  doing  justice  to  the  lad,  neither. 
He  won  the  garment,  and  had  a  right  to  give  it  away. 
The  most  you  may  think,  Mabel,  is  to  believe  that,  had  I 
won  it,  it  would  have  gone  to  the  same  person." 

"I  will  remember  that,  Pathfinder,  and  take  care  that 
others  know  your  skill,  as  it  has  been  proved  upon  the 
poor  gulls  in  my  presence." 

"Lord  bless  you,  Mabel!  there  is  no  more  need  of  your 


168  THE  PATHFINDER 

talking  in  favor  of  my  shooting  on  this  frontier,  than  of 
your  talking  about  the  water  in  the  lake  or  the  sun  in  the 
heavens.  Everybody  knows  what  I  can  do  in  that  way, 
and  your  words  would  be  thrown  away,  as  much  as  French 
would  be  thrown  away  on  an  American  bear." 

'  'Then  you  think  that  Jasper  knew  you  were  giving  him 
this  advantage,  of  which  he  had  so  unhandsomely  availed 
himself?"  said  Mabel,  the  color  which  had  imparted  so 
much  luster  to  her  eye  gradually  leaving  her  face,  which 
became  grave  and  thoughtful. 

"I  do  not  say  that,  but  very  far  from  it.  We  all  forget 
things  that  we  have  known,  when  eager  after  our  wishes. 
Jasper  is  satisfied  that  I  can  pass  one  bullet  through  two 
potatoes,  as  I  sent  my  bullet  through  the  gulls;  and  he 
knows  no  other  man  on  the  frontier  can  do  the  same 
thing.  But  with  the  calash  before  his  eyes,  and  the  hope 
of  giving  it  to  you,  the  lad  was  inclined  to  think  better 
of  himself,  just  at  that  moment,  perhaps,  than  he  ought. 
No,  no,  there's  nothing  mean  or  distrustful  about  Jasper 
Eau-douce,  though  it  is  a  gift  natural  to  all  young  men 
to  wish  to  appear  well  in  the  eyes  of  handsome  young 
women. ' ' 

"I'll  try  to  forget  all,  but  the  kindness  you've  both 
shown  to  a  poor  motherless  girl,"  said  Mabel,  struggling 
to  keep  down  emotions  she  scarcely  knew  how  to  account 
for  herself.  "Believe  me,  Pathfinder,  I  can  never  forget 
all  you  have  already  done  for  me — you  and  Jasper;  and 
this  new  proof  of  your  regard  is  not  thrown  away.  Here, 
here  is  a  brooch  that  is  of  silver,  and  I  offer  it  as  a  token 
that  I  owe  you  life  or  liberty." 

"What  shall  I  do  with  this,  Mabel?"  asked  the  bewil 
dered  hunter,  holding  the  simple  trinket  in  his  hand.  "I 
have  neither  buckle  nor  button  about  me,  for  I  wear  noth 
ing  but  leathern  strings,  and  them  of  good  deerskins.  It's 
pretty  to  the  eye,  but  it  is  prettier  far  on  the  spot  it  came 
from  than  it  can  be  about  me." 

"Nay,  put  it  in  your  hunting-shirt;  it  will  become  it 
well.  Remember,  Pathfinder,  that  it  is  a  token  of  friend 
ship  between  us,  and  a  sign  that  I  can  never  forget  you 
or  your  services. ' ' 

Mabel  then  smiled  an  adieu;  and,  bounding  up  the  bank, 
she  was  soon  lost  to  view  behind  the  mound  of  the  fort. 


CHAPTER   XII 

"Lo  !  dusky  masses  steal  in  dubious  sight, 
Along-  the  leaguer'd  wall,  and  bristling  bank, 

Of  the  arm 'd  river;  while  with  straggling  light, 
The  stars  peep  through  the  vapor,  dim  and  dank." 

-BYRON. 

A  FEW  hours  later  Mabel  Dunham  was  on  the  bastion 
that  overlooked  the  river  and  the  lake,  seemingly  in  deep 
thought.  The  evening  was  calm  and  soft,  and  the  ques 
tion  had  arisen  whether  the  party  for  the  Thousand  Islands 
would  be  able  to  get  out  that  night  or  not,  on  account  of 
the  total  absence  of  wind.  The  stores,  arms,  and  ammu 
nition  were  already  shipped,  and  even  Mabel's  effects  were 
on  board ;  but  the  small  draft  of  men  that  was  to  go  was 
still  ashore,  there  being  no  apparent  prospect  of  the  cut 
ter's  getting  under  way.  Jasper  had  warped  the  Scud 
out  of  the  cove,  and  so  far  up  the  stream  as  to  enable 
him  to  pass  through  the  outlet  of  the  river  whenever  he 
chose;  but  there  he  still  lay,  riding  at  single  anchor.  The 
drafted  men  were  lounging  about  the  shore  of  the  cove, 
undecided  whether  or  not  to  pull  off. 

The  sports  of  the  morning  had  left  a  quiet  in  the  gar 
rison  which  was  in  harmony  with  the  whole  of  the  beau 
tiful  scene,  and  Mabel  felt  its  influence  on  her  feelings, 
though  probably  too  little  accustomed  to  speculate  on  such 
sensations  to  be  aware  of  the  cause.  Everything  near 
appeared  lovely  and  soothing,  while  the  solemn  grandeur 
of  the  silent  forest  and  placid  expanse  of  the  lake  lent  a 
sublimity  that  other  scenes  might  have  wanted.  For  the 
first  time,  Mabel  felt  the  hold  that  the  towns  and  civili 
zation  had  gained  on  her  habits  sensibly  weakened;  and 
the  warm-hearted  girl  began  to  think  that  a  life  passed 
amid  objects  such  as  those  around  her  might  be  happy. 
How  far  the  experience  of  the  last  days  came  in  aid  of  the 
calm  and  holy  eventide,  and  contributed  towards  produc 
ing  that  young  conviction,  may  be  suspected,  rather  than 
affirmed,  in  this  early  portion  of  our  legend. 

169 


170  THE  PATHFINDER 

"A  charming  sunset,  Mabel!"  said  the  hearty  voice  of 
her  uncle,  so  close  to  the  ear  of  our  heroine  as  to  cause 
her  to  start,  "a  charming  sunset,  girl,  for  a  fresh-water 
concern,  though  we  should  think  but  little  of  it  at  sea." 

"And  is  not  nature  the  same  on  shore  or  at  sea — 
on  a  lake  like  this  or  on  the  ocean?  Does  not  the  sun 
shine  on  all  alike,  dear  uncle;  and  can  we  not  feel  grati 
tude  for  the  blessings  of  Providence  as  strongly  on  this 
remote  frontier  as  in  our  own  Manhattan?" 

"The  girl  has  fallen  in  with  some  of  her  mother's  books. 
Is  not  nature  the  same,  indeed!  Now,  Mabel,  do  you 
imagine  that  the  nature  of  a  soldier  is  the  same  as  that  of 
a  seafaring  man?  You've  relations  in  both  callings,  and 
ought  to  be  able  to  answer. ' ' 

"But,  uncle,  I  mean  human  nature." 

"So  do  I,  girl;  the  human  nature  of  a  seaman,  and  the 
human  nature  of  one  of  these  fellows  of  the  55th,  not  even 
excepting  your  own  father.  Here  have  they  had  a  shoot 
ing-match — target-firing  I  should  call  it — this  day,  and 
what  a  different  thing  has  it  been  from  a  target-firing 
afloat!  There  we  should  have  sprung  our  broadside, 
sported  with  round  shot,  at  an  object  half  a  mile  off,  at 
the  very  nearest;  and  the  potatoes,  if  there  happened  to 
be  any  on  board,  as  very  likely  would  not  have  been  the 
case,  would  have  been  left  in  the  cook's  coppers.  It  may 
be  an  honorable  calling,  that  of  a  soldier,  Mabel;  but  an 
experienced  hand  sees  a  many  follies  and  weaknesses  in 
one  of  these  forts.  As  for  that  bit  of  a  lake,  you  know 
my  opinion  of  it  already,  and  I  wish  to  disparage  nothing. 

No  real  seafarer  disparages  anything;  but,  d- me,  if  I 

regard  this  here  Ontario,  as  they  call  it,  as  more  than  so 
much  water  in  a  ship's  scuttle-butt.  Now,  look  you  here, 
Mabel,  if  you  wish  to  understand  the  difference  between 
the  ocean  and  a  lake,  I  can  make  you  comprehend  it  with 
a  single  look;  this  is  what  one  may  call  a  calm,  seeing 
that  there  is  no  wind;  though,  to  own  the  truth,  I  do  not 
think  the  calms  are  as  calm  as  them  we  get  outside 

"Uncle,  there  is  not  a  breath  of  air.  I  do  not  think  it 
possible  for  the  leaves  to  be  more  immovably  still  than 
those  of  the  entire  forest  are  at  this  very  moment." 

"Leaves!  what  are  leaves,  child?  there  are  no  leaves 


THE  PATHFINDER  171 

at  sea.  If  you  wish  to  know  whether  it  is  a  dead  calm  or 
not,  try  a  mould  candle— your  dips  flaring  too  much— 
and  then  you  may  be  certain  whether  there  is  or  is  not 
any  wind.  If  you  were  in  a  latitude  where  the  air  was 
so  still  that  you  found  a  difficulty  in  stirring  it  to  draw 
it  in  in  breathing,  you  might  fancy  it  a  calm.  People 
are  often  on  a  short  allowance  of  air  in  the  calm  latitudes. 
Here,  again,  look  at  that  water!  It  is  like  milk  in  a  pan,' 
with  no  more  motion  now  than  there  is  in  a  full  hogshead 
before  the  bung  is  started.  On  the  ocean  the  water  is 
never  still,  let  the  air  be  as  quiet  as  it  may." 

"The  water  of  the  ocean  never  still,  Uncle  Cap?  not 
even  in  a  calm?" 

"Bless  your  heart,  no,  child!  The  ocean  breathes  like 
a  living  being,  and  its  bosom  is  always  heaving,  as  the 
poetizers  call  it,  though  there  be  no  more  air  than  is 
to  be  found  in  a  siphon.  No  man  ever  saw  the  ocean 
still  like  this  lake;  but  it  heaves  and  sets  as  if  it  had 
lungs. ' ' 

"And  this  lake  is  not  absolutely  still,  for  you  perceive 
there  is  a  little  ripple  on  the  shore,  and  you  may  even 
hear  the  surf  plunging  at  moments  against  the  rocks." 

'  'All  d d  poetry !  Lake  Ontario  is  no  more  the  Atlan 
tic  than  a  Powls  Hook  priagua  is  a  first-rat.  That  Jasper, 
notwithstanding,  is  a  fine  lad,  and  wants  instruction  only 
to  make  a  man  of  him. ' ' 

"Do  you  think  him  ignorant,  uncle?"  answered  Mabel, 
prettily  adjusting  her  hair,  in  order  to  do  which  she  was 
obliged,  or  fancied  she  was  obliged,  to  turn  away  her 
face.  "To  me  Jasper  Eau-douce  appears  to  know  more 
than  most  of  the  young  men  of  his  class.  He  has  read  but 
little,  for  books  are  not  plenty  in  this  part  of  the  world; 
but  he  has  thought  much,  at  least  so  it  seems  to  me,  for 
one  so  young. ' ' 

"He  is  ignorant,  as  all  must  be  who  navigate  an  inland 
water  like  this.  No,  no,  Mabel;  we  both  owe  something 
to  Jasper  and  the  Pathfinder,  and  I  have  been  thinking 
how  I  can  best  serve  them,  for  I  hold  ingratitude  to  be 
the  vice  of  a  hog;  for  treat  the  animal  to  your  own  dinner 
and  he  would  eat  you  for  the  dessert. ' ' 

"Very  true,  dear  uncle;  we  ought  indeed  to  do  all  we 


172  THE  PATHFINDER 

can  to  express  our  proper  sense  of  the  services  of  both 
these  brave  men. ' ' 

"Spoken  like  your  mother's  daughter,  girl,  and  in  a 
way  to  do  credit  to  the  Cap  family.  Now,  I've  hit  upon 
a  traverse  that  will  just  suit  all  parties;  and,  as  soon  as 
we  get  back  from  this  little  expedition  down  the  lake 
among  them  there  Thousand  Islands,  and  I  am  ready  to 
return,  it  is  my  intention  to  propose  it." 

"Dearest  uncle!  this  is  so  considerate  in  you,  and  will 
be  so  just!  May  I  ask  what  your  intentions  are?" 

"I  see  no  reason  for  keeping  them  a  secret  from  you, 
Mabel,  though  nothing  need  be  said  to  your  father  about 
them;  for  the  sergeant  has  his  prejudices,  and  might 
throw  difficulties  in  the  way.  Neither  Jasper  nor  his 
friend  Pathfinder  can  ever  make  anything  hereabouts, 
and  I  propose  to  take  both  with  me  down  to  the  coast, 
and  get  them  fairly  afloat.  Jasper  would  find  his  sea-legs 
in  a  fortnight,  and  a  twelvemonth's  v'y'ge  would  make 
him  a  man.  Although  Pathfinder  might  take  more  time, 
or  never  get  to  be  rated  able,  yet  one  could  make  some 
thing  of  him,  too,  particularly  as  a  look-out,  for  he  has 
unusually  good  eyes." 

"Uncle,  do  you  think  either  would  consent  to  this?" 
said  Mabel,  smiling. 

"Do  I  suppose  ^them  simpletons?  what  rational  being 
would  neglect  his  own  advancement?  Let  Jasper  alone  to 
push  his  way,  and  the  lad  may  yet  die  the  master  of  some 
square-rigged  craft." 

"And  would  he  be  any  the  happier  for  it,  dear  uncle? 
How  much  better  is  it  to  be  the  master  of  a  square-rigged 
craft  than  to  be  master  of  a  round-rigged  craft?" 

"Pooh,  pooh,  Magnet!  you  are  just  fit  to  read  lectures 
about  ships  before  some  hysterical  society;  you  don't 
know  what  you  are  talking  about;  leave  these  things  to 
me,  and  they'll  be  properly  managed.  Ah!  here  is  the 
Pathfinder  himself,  and  I  may  just  as  well  drop  him  a 
hint  of  my  benevolent  intentions  as  regards  himself.  Hope 
is  a  great  encourager  of  our  exertions." 

Cap  nodded  his  head,  and  then  ceased  to  speak,  while 
the  hunter  approached,  not  with  his  usual  frank  and  easy 
manner,  but  in  a  way  to  show  that  he  was  slightly  em 
barrassed,  if  not  distrustful  of  his  reception. 


THE  PATHFINDER  173 

"Uncle  and  niece  make  a  family  party, ' '  said  Pathfinder, 
when  near  the  two,  "and  a  stranger  may  not  prove  a  wel 
come  companion?" 

"You  are  no  stranger,  Master  Pathfinder,"  returned 
Cap,  "and  no  one  can  be  more  welcome  than  yourself. 
We  were  talking  of  you  but  a  moment  ago,  and  when 
friends  speak  of  an  absent  man,  he  can  guess  what  they 
have  said." 

"I  ask  no  secrets.  Every  man  has  his  enemies,  and  I 
have  mine,  though  I  count  neither  you,  Master  Cap,  nor 
pretty  Mabel  here  among  the  number.  As  for  the  Min- 
goes,  I  will  say  nothing,  though  they  have  no  just  cause 
to  hate  me. ' ' 

"That  I'll  answer  for,  Pathfinder!  for  you  strike  my 
fancy  as  being  well-disposed  and  upright.  There  is  a 
method,  however,  of  getting  away  from  the  enmity  of 
even  these  Mingoes;  and  if  you  choose  to  take  it,  no  one 
will  more  willingly  point  it  out  than  myself,  without  a 
charge  for  my  advice  either." 

"I  wish  no  enemies,  Saltwater,"  for  so  the  Pathfinder 
had  begun  to  call  Cap,  having,  insensibly  to  himself, 
adopted  the  term,  by  translating  the  name  given  him  by 
the  Indians  in  and  about  the  fort.  "I  wish  no  enemies. 
I'm  as  ready  to  bury  the  hatchet  with  the  Mingoes  as  with 
the  French,  though  you  know  that  it  depends  on  One 
greater  than  either  of  us  so  to  turn  the  heart  as  to  leave 
a  man  without  enemies." 

"By  lifting  your  anchor,  and  accompanying  me  down 
to  the  coast,  friend  Pathfinder,  when  we  get  back  from 
this  short  cruise  on  which  we  are  bound,  you  will  find 
yourself  beyond  the  sound  of  the  war-whoop,  and  safe 
enough  from  any  Indian  bullet." 

"And  what  should  I  do  on  the  salt  water?  Hunt  in 
your  towns?  Follow  the  trails  of  people  going  and  com 
ing  from  market,  and  ambush  dogs  and  poultry?  You 
are  no  friend  to  my  happiness,  Master  Cap,  if  you  would 
lead  me  out  of  the  shades  of  the  woods  to  put  me  in  the 
sun  of  the  clearings." 

"I  did  not  propose  to  leave  you  in  the  settlements, 
Pathfinder,  but  to  carry  you  out  to  sea,  where  a  man  can 
only  be  said  to  breathe  freely.  Mabel  will  tell  you  that 


174  THE  PATHFINDER 

such  was  my  intention,  before  a  word  was  said  on  the 
subject. ' ' 

"And  what  does  Mabel  think  would  come  of  such  a 
change?  She  knows  that  a  man  has  his  gifts,  and  that  it 
is  as  useless  to  pretend  to  others  as  to  withstand  them 
that  come  from  Providence.  I  am  a  hunter,  and  a  scout, 
or  a  guide,  Saltwater,  and  it  is  not  in  me  to  fly  so  much 
in  the  face  of  heaven  as  to  try  to  become  anything  else. 
Am  I  right,  Mabel,  or  are  you  so  much  a  woman  as  to 
wish  to  see  a  natur'  altered?" 

"I  would  wish  to  see  no  change  in  you,  Pathfinder," 
Mabel  answered,  with  a  cordial  sincerity  and  frankness 
that  went  directly  to  the  hunter's  heart;  "and  much  as 
my  uncle  admires  the  sea,  and  great  as  is  all  the  good 
that  he  thinks  may  come  of  it,  I  could  not  wish  to  see  the 
best  and  noblest  hunter  of  the  woods  transformed  into  an 
admiral.  Remain  what  you  are,  my  brave  friend,  and 
you  need  fear  nothing  short  of  the  anger  of  God." 

"Do  you  Tiear  this,  Saltwater?  do  you  hear  what  the 
sergeant's  daughter  is  saying,  and  she  is  much  too  up 
right,  and  fair-minded,  and  pretty,  not  to  think  what  she 
says.  So  long  as  she  is  satisfied  with  me  as  I  am,  I  shall 
not  fly  in  the  face  of  the  gifts  of  Providence,  by  striving 
to  become  anything  else.  I  may  seem  useless  here  in  a 
garrison;  but  when  we  get  down  among  the  Thousand 
Islands,  there  may  be  an  opportunity  to  prove  that  a  sure 
rifle  is  sometimes  a  Godsend." 

"You  are  then  to  be  of  our  party?"  said  Mabel,  smiling 
so  frankly  and  so  sweetly  on  the  guide  that  he  would  have 
followed  her  to  the  end  of  the  earth.  "I  shall  be  the  only 
female,  with  the  exception  of  one  soldier's  wife,  and  shall 
feel  none  the  less  secure,  Pathfinder,  because  you  will  be 
among  our  protectors." 

"The  sergeant  would  do  that,  Mabel,  though  you  were 
not  of  his  kin.  No  one  will  overlook  you.  I  should 
think  your  uncle  here  would  like  an  expedition  of  this 
sort,  where  we  shall  go  with  sails,  and  have  a  look  at  an 
inland  sea?" 

'  'Your  inland  sea  is  no  great  matter,  Master  Pathfinder, 
and  I  expect  nothing  from  it.  I  confess,  however,  I  should 
like  to  know  the  object  of  the  cmise;  for  one  does  not 


THE  PATHFINDER  175 

wish  to  be  idle,  and  my  brother-in-law,  the  sergeant,  is 
as  close-mouthed  as  a  freemason.  Do  you  know,  Mabel, 
what  all  this  means?" 

"Not  in  the  least,  uncle.  I  dare  not  ask  my  father  any 
questions  about  his  duty,  for  he  thinks  it  is  not  a  woman's 
business;  and  all  I  can  say  is,  that  we  are  to  sail  as  soon 
as  the  wind  will  permit,  and  that  we  are  to  be  absent  a 
month." 

"Perhaps,  Master  Pathfinder  can  give  me  a  useful  hint; 
for  a  v'y'ge  without  an  object  is  never  pleasant  to  an  old 
sailor." 

"There  is  no  great  secret,  Saltwater,  concerning  our 
port  and  object,  though  it  is  forbidden  to  talk  much  about 
either  in  the  garrison.  I  am  no  soldier,  however,  and  can 
use  my  tongue  as  I  please,  though  as  little  given  as  an 
other  to  idle  conversation,  I  hope;  still,  as  we  sail  so  soon 
and  you  are  both  to  be  of  the  party,  you  may  as  well  be 
told  where  you  are  to  be  carried.  You  know  that  there 
are  such  things  as  the  Thousand  Islands,  I  suppose,  Master 
Cap?" 

"Ay,  what  are  so  called  hereaway,  though  I  take  it-for 
granted  that  they  are  not  real  islands,  such  as  we  fall  in 
with  on  the  ocean;  and  that  the  thousand  means  some  such 
matter  as  two  or  three. ' ' 

"My  eyes  are  good,  and  yet  have  I  often  been  foiled  in 
trying  to  count  them  very  islands. ' ' 

"Ay,  ay,  I've  known  people  who  couldn't  count  beyond 
a  certain  number.  Your  real  land-birds  never  know  their 
own  roosts,  even  in  a  land-fall  at  sea.  How  many  times 
have  I  seen  the  beach,  and  houses,  and  churches,  when  the 
passengers  have  not  been  able  to  see  anything  but  water! 
I  have  no  idea  that  a  man  can  get  fairly  out  of  sight  of 
land  on  fresh  water.  The  thing  appears  to  me  to  be 
irrational  and  impossible." 

"You  don't  know  the  lakes,  Master  Cap,  or  you  would 
not  say  that.  Before  we  get  to  the  Thousand  Islands,  you 
will  have  other  notions  of  what  natur'  has  done  in  this 
wilderness." 

"I  have  my  doubts  whether  you  have  such  a  thing  as  a 
real  island  in  all  this  region." 

"We'll  show  you   hundreds   of  them;    not  exactly  a 


176  THE  PATHFINDER 

thousand,  perhaps,  but  so  many  that  eye  cannot  see  them 
all,  nor  tongue  count  them." 

"I'll  engage,  when  the  truth  comes  to  be  known,  they'll 
turn  out  to  be  nothing  but  peninsulas,  or  promontories, 
or  continents;  though  these  are  matters,  I  daresay,  of 
which  you  know  little  or  nothing.  But,  islands  or  no 
islands,  what  is  the  object  of  the  cruise,  Master  Path 
finder?" 

"There  can  be  no  harm  in  giving  you  some  idea  of  what 
we  are  going  to  do.  Being  so  old  a  sailor,  Master  Cap, 
you've  heard,  no  doubt,  of  such  a  port  as  Frontenac?" 

"Who  hasn't?  I  will  not  say  I've  ever  been  inside  the 
harbor,  but  I've  frequently  been  off  the  place." 

"Then  you  are  about  to  go  upon  ground  with  which 
you  are  acquainted.  These  great  lakes,  you  must  know, 
make  a  chain,  and  the  water  passing  out  of  one  into  the 
other,  until  it  reaches  Erie,  which  is  a  sheet  off  here  to 
the  westward,  as  large  as  Ontario  itself.  Well,  out  of 
Erie  the  water  comes,  until  it  reaches  a  low  mountain 
like,  over  the  edge  of  which  it  passes." 

"I  should  like  to  know  how  the  devil  it  can  do  that?" 

"Why,  easy  enough,  Master  Cap,"  returned  Pathfinder, 
laughing,  "seeing  that  it  has  only  to  fall  down  hill.  Had 
I  said  the  water  went  up  the  mountain,  there  would  have 
been  natur'  ag'in  it;  but  we  hold  it  no  great  matter  for 
water  to  run  down  hill — that  is,  fresh  water."  , 

"Ay,  ay,  but  you  speak  of  the  water  of  a  lake's  coming 
down  the  side  of  a  mountain;  it's  in  the  teeth  of  reason, 
if  reason  has  any  teeth." 

"Well,  well,  we  will  not  dispute  the  point;  but  what 
I've  seen  I've  seen.  After  getting  into  Ontario,  all  the 
water  of  all  the  lakes  passes  down  into  the  sea  by  a  river; 
and  in  the  narrow  part  of  the  sheet,  where  it  is  neither 
river  nor  lake,  lie  the  islands  spoken  of.  Now  Frontenac 
is  a  post  of  the  Frenchers  above  these  same  islands;  and, 
as  they  hold  the  garrison  below,  their  stores  and  ammu 
nition  are  sent  up  the  river  to  Frontenac,  to  be  forwarded 
along  the  shores  of  this  and  the  other  lakes,  in  order  to 
enable  the  enemy  to  play  his  deviltries  among  the  savages, 
and  to  take  Christian  scalps." 

"And  will  our  presence  prevent  these  horrible  acts?" 
demanded  Mabel,  with  interest. 


THE  PATHFINDER  177 

"It  may  or  it  may  not,  as  Providence  wills.  Lundie, 
as  they  call  him,  he  who  commands  this  garrison,  sent  a 
party  down  to  take  a  station  among  the  islands,  to  cut 
off  some  of  the  French  boats;  and  this  expedition  of  ours 
will  be  the  second  relief.  As  yet  they've  not  done  much, 
though  two  bateaux  loaded  with  Indian  goods  have  been 
taken;  but  a  runner  came  in  last  week,  and  brought  such 
tidings  that  the  major  is  about  to  make  a  last  effort  to 
circumvent  the  knaves.  Jasper  knows  the  way,  and  we 
shall  be  in  good  hands,  for  the  sergeant  is  prudent,  and 
of  the  first  quality  at  an  ambushment;  yes,  he  is  both 
prudent  and  alert. ' ' 

"Is  this  all?"  said  Cap  contemptuously;  "by  the  prep 
arations  and  equipments,  I  had  thought  there  was  a  forced 
trade  in  the  wind,  and  that  an  honest  penny  might  be 
turned  by  taking  an  adventure.  I  suppose  there  are  no 
shares  in  your  fresh-water  prize-money?" 

"Anan?" 

"I  take  it  for  granted  the  king  gets  all  in  these  soldier 
ing  parties,  and  ambushments,  as  you  call  them." 

"I  know  nothing  about  that,  Master  Cap.  I  take  my 
share  of  the  lead  and  powder  if  any  falls  into  our  hands, 
and  say  nothing  to  the  king  about  it.  If  any  one  fares 
better,  it  is  not  I;  though  it  is  time  I  did  begin  to  think 
of  a  house  and  furniture  and  a  home." 

Although  the  Pathfinder  did  not  dare  to  look  at  Mabel 
while  he  made  this  direct  allusion  to  his  change  of  life, 
he  would  have  given  the  world  to  know  whether  she  was 
listening,  and  what  was  the  expression  of  her  countenance. 

Mabel  little  suspected  the  nature  of  the  allusion,  how 
ever;  and  her  countenance  was  perfectly  unembarrassed 
as  she  turned  her  eyes  towards  the  river,  where  the  ap 
pearance  of  some  movement  on  board  the  Scud  began  to 
be  visible. 

'  'Jasper  is  bringing  the  cutter  out, ' '  observed  the  guide, 
whose  look  was  drawn  in  the  same  direction  by  the  fall  of 
some  heavy  article  on  the  deck.  "The  lad  sees  the  signs 
of  wind,  no  doubt,  and  wishes  to  be  ready  for  it." 

"Ay,  now  we  shall   have  an  opportunity  of  learning 
seamanship,"  returned  Cap,  with  a  sneer, 
nicety  in  getting  a  craft  under  her  canvas  that  shows  the 
12 


178  THE  PATHFINDER 

thoroughbred  mariner  as  much  as  anything  else.  It's 
like  a  soldier  buttoning  his  coat,  and  one  can  see  whether 
he  begins  at  the  top  or  the  bottom." 

"I  will  not  say  that  Jasper  is  equal  to  your  seafarers 
below,"  observed  Pathfinder,  across  whose  upright  mind 
an  unworthy  feeling  of  envy  or  of  jealousy  never  passed; 
"but  he  is  a  bold  boy,  and  manages  his  cutter  as  skilfully 
as  any  man  can  desire,  on  this  lake  at  least.  You  didn't 
find  him  backwards  at  the  Oswego  Falls,  Master  Cap, 
where  fresh  water  contrives  to  tumble  down  hill  with 
little  difficulty." 

Cap  made  no  other  answer  than  a  dissatisfied  ejacula 
tion,  and  then  a  general  silence  followed,  all  on  the  bastion 
studying  the  movements  of  the  cutter  with  the  interest 
that  was  natural  to  their  own  future  connection  with  the 
vessel.  It  was  still  a  dead  calm,  the  surface  of  the  lake 
literally  glittering  with  the  last  rays  of  the  sun.  The 
Scud  had  been  warped  up  to  a  kedge  that  lay  a  hundred 
yards  above  the  points  of  the  outlet,  where  she  had  room 
to  maneuver  in  the  river  which  then  formed  the  harbor 
of  Oswego.  But  the  total  want  of  air  prevented  any  such 
attempt,  and  it  was  soon  evident  that  the  light  vessel  was 
to  be  taken  through  the  passage  under  her  sweeps.  Not 
a  sail  was  loosened;  but  as  soon  as  the  kedge  was  tripped, 
the  heavy  fall  of  the  sweeps  was  heard,  when  the  cutter, 
with  her  head  up  stream,  began  to  sheer  towards  the 
center  of  the  current;  on  reaching  which,  the  efforts  of 
the  men  ceased,  and  she  drifted  towards  the  outlet.  In 
the  narrow  pass  itself  her  movement  was  rapid,  and  in 
less  than  five  minutes  the  Scud  was  floating  outside  of  the 
two  low  gravelly  points  which  intercepted  the  waves  of 
the  lake.  No  anchor  was  let  go,  but  the  vessel  continued 
to  set  off  from  the  land,  until  her  dark  hull  was  seen  rest 
ing  on  the  glossy  surface  of  the  lake,  full  a  quarter  of 
a  mile  beyond  the  low  bluff  which  formed  the  eastern 
extremity  of  what  might  be  called  the  outer  harbor  or 
roadstead.  Here  the  influence  of  the  river  current  ceased, 
and  she  became,  virtually,  stationary. 

"She  seems  very  beautiful  to  me,  uncle,"  said  Mabel, 
whose  gaze  had  not  been  averted  from  the  cutter  for  a 
single  moment  while  it  had  thus  been  changing  its  posi- 


THE  PATHFINDER  179 

tion;  "I  daresay  you  can  find  faults  in  her  appearance, 
and  in  the  way  she  is  managed;  but  to  my  ignorance  both 
are  perfect." 

"Ay,  ay;  she  drops  down  with  a  current  well  enough, 
girl,  and  so  would  a  chip.  But  when  you  come  to  nice 
ties,  an  old  tar  like  myself  has  no  need  of  spectacles  to 
find  fault." 

"Well,  Master  Cap,"  put  in  the  guide,  who  seldom 
heard  anything  to  Jasper's  prejudice  without  manifesting 
a  disposition  to  interfere,  "I've  heard  old  and  experienced 
salt-water  mariners  confess  that  the  Scud  is  as  pretty  a 
craft  as  floats.  I  know  nothing  of  such  matters  myself; 
but  one  may  have  his  own  notions  about  a  ship,  even 
though  they  be  wrong  notions;  and  it  would  take  more 
than  one  witness  to  persuade  me  Jasper  does  not  keep  his 
boat  in  good  order." 

"I  do  not  say  that  the  cutter  is  downright  lubberly, 
Master  Pathfinder;  but  she  has  faults,  and  great  faults." 

"And  what  are  they,  uncle?  If  he  knew  them,  Jasper 
would  be  glad  to  mend  them." 

"What  are  they?  Why,  fifty;  ay,  for  that  matter  a 
hundred.  Very  material  and  manifest  faults." 

"Do  name  them,  sir,  and  Pathfinder  will  mention  them 
to  his  friend." 

"Name  them!  it  is  no  easy  matter  to  call  off  the  stars, 
for  the  simple  reason  that  they  are  so  numerous.  Name 
them,  indeed!  Why,  my  pretty  niece,  Miss  Magnet,  what 
do  you  think  of  that  main-boom  now?  To  my  ignorant 
eyes,  it  is  topped  at  least  a  foot  too  high;  and  then  the 

pennant  is  foul;  and— and— ay,  d me,  if  there  isn't  a 

topsail  gasket  adrift;  and  it  wouldn't  surprise  me  at  all 
if  there  should  be  a  round  turn  in  that  hawser,  if  the 
kedge  were  to  be  let  go  this  instant.  Faults  indeed !  No 
seaman  could  look  at  her  a  moment  without  seeing  that 
she  is  as  full  of  faults  as  a  servant  who  has  asked  for  his 
discharge." 

"This  may  be  very  true,  uncle,  though  I  much  question 
if  Jasper  knows  of  them.  I  do  not  think  he  would  suffer 
these  things,  Pathfinder,  if  they  were  once  pointed  out 
to  him."  ., 

"Let  Jasper  manage  his  own  cutter,  Mabel. 


180  THE  PATHFINDER 

lies  that- a- way,  and  I'll  answer  for  it,  no  one  can  teach 
him  how  to  keep  the  Scud  out  of  the  hands  of  the  Fron- 
tenackers  or  their  devilish  Mingo  friends.  Who  cares  for 
round  turns  in  kedges,  and  for  hawsers  that  are  topped 
too  high,  Master  Cap,  so  long  as  the  craft  sails  well,  and 
keeps  clear  of  the  Frenchers?  I  will  trust  Jasper  against 
all  the  seafarers  of  the  coast,  up  here  on  the  lakes;  but  I 
do  not  say  he  has  any  gift  for  the  ocean,  for  there  he  has 
never  been  tried." 

Cap  smiled  condescendingly,  but  he  did  not  think  it 
necessary  to  push  his  criticisms  any  further  just  at  that 
moment.  By  this  time  the  cutter  had  begun  to  drift  at 
the  mercy  of  the  currents  of  the  lake,  her  head  turning 
in  all  directions,  though  slowly,  and  not  in  a  way  to  at 
tract  particular  attention.  Just  at  this  moment  the  jib 
was  loosened  and  hoisted,  and  presently  the  canvas  swelled 
towards  the  land,  though  no  evidences  of  air  were  yet  to 
be  seen  on  the  surface  of  the  water.  Slight,  however,  as 
was  the  impulsion,  the  light  hull  yielded;  and  in  another 
minute  the  Scud  was  seen  standing  across  the  current  of 
the  river  with  a  movement  so  easy  and  moderate  as  to  be 
scarcely  perceptible.  When  out  of  the  stream,  she  struck 
an  eddy,  and  shot  up  towards  the  land,  under  the  emi 
nence  where  the  fort  stood,  when  Jasper  dropped  his 
kedge. 

"Not  lubberly  done,"  muttered  Cap  in  a  sort  of  solilo 
quy;  "not  over  lubberly,  though  he  should  have  put  his 
helm  a-starboard  instead  of  a-port;  for  a  vessel  ought 
always  to  come-to  with  her  head  off  shore,  whether  she  is 
a  league  from  the  land  or  only  a  cable's  length,  since  it 
has  a  careful  look,  and  looks  are  something  in  this  world." 

"Jasper  is  a  handy  lad, "  suddenly  observed  Sergeant 
Dunham  at  his  brother-in-law's  elbow;  "and  we  place 
great  reliance  on  his  skill  in  our  expeditions.  But  come, 
one  and  all,  we  have  but  half  an  hour  more  of  daylight 
to  embark  in,  and  the  boats  will  be  ready  for  us  by  the 
time  we  are  ready  for  them." 

On  this  intimation  the  whole  party  separated,  each  to 
find  those  trifles  which  had  not  been  shipped  already.  A 
few  taps  of  the  drum  gave  the  necessary  signal  to  the 
soldiers,  and  in  a  minute  all  were  in  motion. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

"  The  goblin  now  the  fool  alarms, 
Hags  meet  to  mumble  o'er  their  charms, 
The  night-mare  rides  the  dreaming  ass, 
And  fairies  trip  it  on  the  grass.  " 

—COTTON. 

THE  embarkation  of  so  small  a  party  was  a  matter  of 
no  great  delay  or  embarrassment.  The  whole  force  con 
fided  to  the  care  of  Sergeant  Dunham  consisted  of  but  ten 
privates  and  two  non-commissioned  officers,  though  it 
was  soon  positively  known  that  Mr.  Muir  was  to  accom 
pany  the  expedition.  The  quartermaster,  however,  went 
as  a  volunteer,  while  some  duty  connected  with  his  own 
department,  as  had  been  arranged  between  him  and  his 
commander,  was  the  avowed  object.  To  these  must  be 
added  the  Pathfinder  and  Cap,  with  Jasper  and  his  subor 
dinates,  one  of  whom  was  a  boy.  The  party,  consequently, 
consisted  of  less  than  twenty  men,  and  a  lad  of  fourteen. 
Mabel  and  the  wife  of  a  common  soldier  were  the  only 
females. 

Sergeant  Dunham  carried  off  his  command  in  a  large 
bateau,  and  then  returned  for  his  final  orders,  and  to  see 
that  his  brother-in-law  and  daughter  were  properly  at 
tended  to.  Having  pointed  out  to  Cap  the  boat  that  he 
and  Mabel  were  to  use,  he  ascended  the  hill  to  seek  his 
last  interview  with  Lundie. 

It  was  nearly  dark  when  Mabel  found  herself  in  the 
boat  that  was  to  carry  her  off  to  the  cutter.  So  very 
smooth  was  the  surface  of  the  lake,  that  it  was  not  found 
necessary  to  bring  the  bateaux  into  the  river  to  receive 
their  freights;  but  the  beach  outside  being  totally  with 
out  surf,  and  the  water  as  tranquil  as  that  of  a  pond, 
everybody  embarked  there.  When  the  boat  left  the  land, 
Mabel  would  not  have  known  that  she  was  afloat  on  so  broad 
a  sheet  of  water  by  any  movement  which  is  usual  to  such 
circumstances.  The  oars  had  barely  time  to  give  a  dozen 
strokes,  when  the  boat  lay  at  the  cutter's  side. 

181 


182  THE  PATHFINDER 

Jasper  was  in  readiness  to  receive  his  passengers;  and, 
as  the  deck  of  the  Scud  was  but  two  or  three  feet  above 
the  water,  no  difficulty  was  experienced  in  getting  on 
board  of  her.  As  soon  as  this  was  effected,  the  young 
man  pointed  out  to  Mabel  and  her  companion  the  accom 
modations  prepared  for  their  reception.  The  little  vessel 
contained  four  apartments  below,  all  between  decks  hav 
ing  been  expressly  constructed  with  a  view  to  the  trans 
portation  of  officers  and  men,  with  their  wives  and  fami 
lies.  First  in  rank  was  what  was  called  the  after-cabin, 
a  small  apartment  that  contained  four  berths,  and  which 
enjoyed  the  advantage  of  possessing  small  windows,  for 
the  admission  of  air  and  light.  This  was  uniformly  de 
voted  to  females  whenever  any  were  on  board;  and  as 
Mabel  and  her  companion  were  alone,  they  had  ample  ac 
commodation.  The  main  cabin  was  larger,  and  lighted 
from  above.  It  was  now  appropriated  to  the  quarter 
master,  the  sergeant,  Cap,  and  Jasper;  the  Pathfinder 
roaming  through  any  part  of  the  cutter  he  pleased,  the 
female  apartment  excepted.  The  corporals  and  common 
soldiers  occupied  the  space  beneath  the  main  hatch,  which 
had  a  deck  for  such  a  purpose,  while  the  crew  were 
berthed,  as  usual,  in  the  forecastle.  Although  the  cutter 
did  not  measure  quite  fifty  tons,  the  draft  of  officers  and 
men  was  so  light,  that  there  was  ample  room  for  all  on 
board,  there  being  space  enough  to  accommodate  treble 
the  number,  if  necessary. 

As  soon  as  Mabel  had  taken  possession  of  her  own  really 
comfortable  cabin,  in  doing  which  she  could  not  abstain 
from  indulging  in  the  pleasant  reflection  that  some  of 
Jasper's  favor  had  been  especially  manifested  in  her  be 
half,  she  went  on  deck  again.  Here  all  was  momentarily 
in  motion;  the  men  were  roving  to  and  fro,  in  quest  of 
their  knapsacks  and  other  effects;  but  method  and  habit 
soon  reduced  things  to  order,  when  the  stillness  on  board 
became  even  imposing,  for  it  was  connected  with  the  idea 
of  future  adventure  and  ominous  preparation. 

Darkness  was  now  beginning  to  render  objects  on  shore 
indistinct,  the  whole  of  the  land  forming  one  shapeless 
black  outline  of  even  forest  summits,  to  be  distinguished 
from  the  impending  heavens  only  by  the  greater  light  of 


THE  PATHFINDER  183 

the  sky.  The  stars,  however,  soon  began  to  appear  in 
the  latter,  one  after  another,  in  their  usual  mild,  placid 
luster,  bringing  with  that  sense  of  quiet  which  ordinarily 
accompanies  night.  There  was  something  soothing,  as 
well  as  exciting,  in  such  a  scene;  and  Mabel,  who  was 
seated  on  the  quarter-deck,  sensibly  felt  both  influences. 
The  Pathfinder  was  standing  near  her,  leaning,  as  usual, 
on  his  long  rifle,  and  she  fancied  that,  through  the  grow 
ing  darkness  of  the  hour,  she  could  trace  even  stronger 
lines  of  thought  than  usual  in  his  rugged  countenance. 

"To  you,  Pathfinder,  expeditions  like  this  can  be  no 
great  novelty,"  said  she;  ' 'though  I  am  surprised  to  find 
how  silent  and  thoughtful  the  men  appear  to  be." 

"We  learn  this  by  making  war  ag'in  Indians.  Your 
militia  are  great  talkers  and  little  doers  in  general;  but 
the  soldier  who  has  often  met  the  Mingoes  learns  to  know 
the  value  of  a  prudent  tongue.  A  silent  army,  in  the 
woods,  is  doubly  strong;  and  a  noisy  one,  doubly  weak. 
If  tongues  made  soldiers,  the  women  of  a  camp  would 
generally  carry  the  day." 

"But  we  are  neither  an  army,  nor  in  the  woods.  There 
can  be  no  danger  of  Mingoes  in  the  Scud." 

"No  one  is  safe  from  a  Mingo,  who  does  not  understand 
his  very  natur' ;  and  even  then  he  must  act  up  to  his  own 
knowledge,  and  that  closely.  Ask  Jasper  how  he  got 
command  of  this  very  cutter." 

"And  how  did  he  get  command?"  inquired  Mabel,  with 
an  earnestness  and  interest  that  quite  delighted  her  simple- 
minded  and  true-hearted  companion,  who  was  never  better 
pleased  than  when  he  had  an  opportunity  of  saying  aught 
in  favor  of  a  friend.  "It  is  honorable  to  him  that  he  has 
reached  this  station  while  yet  so  young." 

"That  is  it;  but  he  deserved  it  all,  and  more.  A  frigate 
wouldn't  have  been  too  much  to  pay  for  so  much  spirit 
and  coolness,  had  there  been  such  a  thing  on  Ontario,  as 
there  is  not,  hows'ever,  or  likely  to  be." 

"But  Jasper— you  have  not  yet  told  me  how  he  got  the 
command  of  the  schooner, 

"It  is  a  long  story,  Mabel,  and  one  your  father,  the 
sergeant,  can  tell  much  better  than  I;  for  he  was  present, 
while  I  was  off  on  a  distant  scouting.  Jasper  is  not  good 


184  THE  PATHFINDER 

at  a  story,  I  will  own  that;  I  have  heard  him  questioned 
about  this  affair,  and  he  never  made  a  good  tale  of  it, 
although  everybody  knows  it  was  a  good  thing.  The  Scud 
had  near  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  French  and  the 
Mingoes,  when  Jasper  saved  her,  in  a  way  which  none  but 
a  quick-witted  mind  and  a  bold  heart  would  have  at 
tempted.  The  sergeant  will  tell  the  tale  better  than  I 
can,  and  I  wish  you  to  question  him  some  day,  when 
nothing  better  offers." 

Mabel  determined  to  ask  her  father  to  repeat  the  inci 
dents  of  the  affair  that  very  night;  for  it  struck  her  young 
fancy  that  nothing  better  could  well  offer  than  to  listen 
to  the  praises  of  one  who  was  a  bad  historian  of  his  own 
exploits. 

"Will  the  Scud  remain  with  us  when  we  reach  the 
island?"  she  asked,  after  a  little  hesitation  about  the 
propriety  of  the  question;  "or  shall  we  be  left  to  our 
selves?" 

"That's  as  may  be;  Jasper  does  not  often  keep  the 
cutter  idle  when  anything  is  to  be  done;  and  we  may 
expect  activity  on  his  part.  My  gifts,  however,  run  so 
little  towards  the  water  and  vessels  generally,  unless  it 
be  among  rapids  and  falls  and  in  canoes,  that  I  pretend  to 
know  nothing  about  it.  We  shall  have  all  right  under 
Jasper,  I  make  no  doubt,  who  can  find  a  trail  on  Ontario 
as  well  as  a  Delaware  can  find  one  on  the  land." 

"And  our  own  Delaware,  Pathfinder — the  Big  Serpent 
— why  is  he  not  with  us  to-night?" 

"Your  question  would  have  been  more  natural  had  you 
said,  Why  are  you  here,  Pathfinder?  The  Sarpent  is  in 
his  place,  while  I  am  not  in  mine.  He  is  out,  with  two 
or  three  more,  scouting  the  lake  shores,  and  will  join  us 
down  among  the  islands,  with  the  tidings  he  may  gather. 
The  sergeant  is  too  good  a  soldier  to  forget  his  rear  while 
he  is  facing  the  enemy  in  front.  It's  a  thousand  pities, 
Mabel,  your  father  wasn't  born  a  general,  as  some  of  the 
English  are  who  come  among  us;  for  I  feel  sartain  he 
wouldn't  leave  a  Frencher  in  the  Canadas  a  week,  could 
he  have  his  own  way  with  them." 

"Shall  we  have  enemies  to  face  in  front?"  asked  Mabel, 
smiling,  and  for  the  first  time  feeling  a  slight  apprehen- 


THE  PATHFINDER  185 

sion  about  the  dangers  of  the  expedition.    '  'Are  we  likely 
to  have  an  engagement?" 

"If  we  have,  Mabel,  there  will  be  men  enough  ready 
and  willing  to  stand  between  you  and  harm.  But  you 
are  a  soldier's  daughter,  and,  we  all  know,  have  the  spirit 
of  one.  Don't  let  the  fear  of  a  battle  keep  your  pretty 
eyes  from  sleeping. ' ' 

"I  do  feel  braver  out  here  in  the  woods,  Pathfinder, 
than  I  ever  felt  before  amid  the  weaknesses  of  the  towns, 
although  I  have  always  tried  to  remember  what  I  owe  to 
my  dear  father. ' ' 

"Ay,  your  mother  was  so  before  you.  'You  will  find 
Mabel,  like  her  mother,  no  screamer,  or  a  faint-hearted 
girl,  to  trouble  a  man  in  his  need;  but  one  who  would 
encourage  her  mate,  and  help  to  keep  his  heart  up  when 
sorest  prest  by  danger, '  said  the  sergeant  to  me,  before  I 
ever  laid  eyes  on  that  sweet  countenance  of  yours — he 
did!" 

"And  why  should  my  father  have  told  you  this,  Path 
finder?"  the  girl  demanded  a  little  earnestly.  "Perhaps 
he  fancied  you  would  think  the  better  of  me  if  you  did 
not  believe  me  a  silly  coward,  as  so  many  of  my  sex  love 
to  make  themselves  appear. ' ' 

Deception,  unless  it  were  at  the  expense  of  his  enemies 
in  the  field — nay,  concealment  of  even  a  thought — was  so 
little  in  accordance  with  the  Pathfinder's  very  nature, 
that  he  was  not  a  little  embarrassed  by  this  simple  ques 
tion.  In  such  a  strait  he  involuntarily  took  refuge  in  a 
middle  course,  not  revealing  that  which  he  fancied  ought 
not  to  be  told,  nor  yet  absolutely  concealing  it. 

"You  must  know,  Mabel,"  said  he,  "that  the  sergeant 
and  I  are  old  friends,  and  have  stood  side  by  side — or,  if 
not  actually  side  by  side,  I  a  little  in  advance,  as  became 
a  scout,  and  your  father  with  his  own  men,  as  better 
suited  a  soldier  of  the  king — on  many  a  hard  fi't  and 
bloody  day.  It's  the  way  of  us  skirmishers  to  think  little 
of  the  fight  when  the  rifle  has  done  cracking;  and  at 
night,  around  our  fires,  or  on  our  marches,  we  talk  of  the 
things  we  love,  just  as  you  young  women  convarse  about 
your  fancies  and  opinions  when  you  get  together  to  laugh 
over  your  idees.  Now  it  was  natural  that  the  sergeant, 


186  THE  PATHFINDER 

having  such  a  daughter  as  you,  should  love  her  better 
than  anything  else,  and  that  he  should  talk  of  her  oftener 
than  of  anything  else — while  I,  having  neither  daughter, 
nor  sister,  nor  mother,  nor  kith,  nor  kin,  nor  anything 
but  the  Delawares  to  love,  I  naturally  chimed  in,  as  it 
were,  and  got  to  love  you,  Mabel,  before  I  ever  saw  you 
— yes,  I  did — just  by  talking  about  you  so  much." 

"And  now  you  have  seen  me,"  returned  the  smiling 
girl,  whose  unmoved  and  natural  manner  proved  how 
little  she  was  thinking  of  anything  more  than  parental  or 
fraternal  regard,  "you  are  beginning  to  see  the  folly  of 
forming  friendships  for  people  before  you  know  anything 
about  them,  except  by  hearsay. ' ' 

"It  wasn't  friendship — it  isn't  friendship,  Mabel,  that 
I  feel  for  you.  I  am  the  friend  of  the  Dalawares,  and 
have  been  so  from  boyhood;  but  my  feelings  for  them,  or 
for  the  best  of  them,  are  not  the  same  as  those  I  got  from 
the  sergeant  for  you;  and,  especially,  now  that  I  begin 
to  know  the  better.  I'm  sometimes  afeared  it  isn't  whole 
some  for  one  who  is  much  occupied  in  a  very  manly 
calling,  like  that  of  a  guide  or  scout,  or  a  soldier,  even, 
to  form  friendships  for  women — young  women  in  particu 
lar — as  they  seem  to  me  to  lessen  the  love  of  enterprise, 
and  to  turn  the  feelings  away  from  their  gifts  and  natural 
occupations." 

"You  surely  do  not  mean,  Pathfinder,  that  a  friendship 
for  a  girl  like  me  would  make  you  less  bold,  and  more 
unwilling  to  meet  the  French  than  you  were  before?" 

"Not  so,  not  so.  With  you  in  danger,  for  instance,  I 
fear  I  might  become  foolhardy;  but  before  we  became  so 
intimate,  as  I  may  say,  1  loved  to  think  of  my  scoutings, 
and  of  my  marches,  and  outlyings,  and  fights,  and  other 
adventures;  but  now  my  mind  cares  less  about  them;  I 
think  more  of  the  barracks,  and  of  evenings  passed  in 
discourse,  of  feelings  in  which  there  are  no  wranglings 
and  bloodshed,  and  of  young  women,  and  of  their  laughs 
and  their  cheerful,  soft  voices,  their  pleasant  looks  and 
their  winning  ways.  I  sometimes  tell  the  sergeant  that 
he  and  his  daughter  will  be  the  spoiling  of  one  of  the 
best  and  most  experienced  scouts  on  the  lines." 

"Not  they,  Pathfinder;    they  will   try  to   make   that 


THE  PATHFINDER  187 

which  is  already  so  excellent,  perfect.  You  do  not  know 
us,  if  you  think  that  either  wishes  to  see  you  in  the  least 
changed.  Remain  as  at  present,  the  same  honest,  up 
right,  conscientious,  fearless,  intelligent,  trustworthy 
guide  that  you  are,  and  neither  my  dear  father  nor  myself 
can  ever  think  of  you  differently  from  what  we  now  do." 

It  was  too  dark  for  Mabel  to  note  the  workings  of  the 
countenance  of  her  listener;  but  her  own  sweet  face  was 
turned  towards  him,  as  she  spoke  with  an  energy  equal  to 
her  frankness,  in  a  way  to  show  how  little  embarrassed 
were  her  thoughts,  and  how  sincere  were  her  words.  Her 
countenance  was  a  little  flushed,  it  is  true;  but  it  was 
with  earnestness  and  truth  of  feeling,  though  no  nerve 
thrilled,  no  limb  trembled,  no  pulsation  quickened.  In 
short,  her  manner  and  appearance  were  those  of  a  sincere- 
minded  and  frank  girl,  making  such  a  declaration  of 
good-will  and  regard  for  one  of  the  other  sex  as  she  felt 
that  his  services  and  good  qualities  merited,  without  any 
of  the  emotion  that  invariably  accompanies  the  conscious 
ness  of  an  inclination  which  might  lead  to  softer  dis 
closures. 

The  Pathfinder  was  too  unpractised,  however,  to  enter 
into  distinctions  of  this  kind,  and  his  humble  nature  was 
encouraged  by  the  directness  and  strength  of  the  words 
he  had  just  heard.  Unwilling,  if  not  unable,  to  say  any 
more,  he  v/alked  away,  and  stood  leaning  on  his  rifle  and 
looking  up  at  the  stars  for  full  ten  minutes  in  profound 
silence. 

In  the  meanwhile  the  interview  on  the  bastion,  to  which 
we  have  already  alluded,  took  place  between  Lundie  and 
the  sergeant. 

"Have  the  men's  knapsacks  been  examined?"  demanded 
Major  Duncan,  after  he  had  cast  his  eye  at  a  written  re 
port,  handed  to  him  by  the  sergeant,  but  which  it  was 
too  dark  to  read. 

"All,  your  honor;  and  all  are  right." 

"The  ammunition— arms?"  >f 

"All  in  order,  Major  Duncan,  and  fit  for  any  service.^ 

"You  have  the  men  named  in  my  own  draft,  Dunham? 

"Without  an  exception,  sir.  Better  men  could  not  be 
found  in  the  regiment." 


188  THE  PATHFINDER 

"You  have  need  of  the  best  of  our  men,  sergeant.  This 
experiment  has  now  been  tried  three  times;  always  under 
one  of  the  ensigns,  who  have  flattered  me  with  success, 
but  have  as  often  failed.  After  so  much  preparation  and 
expense,  I  do  not  like  to  abandon  the  project  entirely;  but 
this  will  be  the  last  effort;  and  the  result  will  mainly 
depend  on  you  and  on  the  Pathfinder. ' ' 

"You  may  count  on  us  both,  Major  Duncan.  The  duty 
you  have  given  us  is  not  above  our  habits  and  experience, 
and  I  think  it  will  be  well  done.  I  know  that  the  Path 
finder  will  not  be  wanting." 

"On  that,  indeed,  it  will  be  safe  to  rely.  He  is  a  most 
extraordinary  man,  Dunham — one  who  long  puzzled  me; 
but  who,  now  that  I  understand  him,  commands  as  much 
of  my  respect  as  any  general  in  his  majesty's  service." 

"I  was  in  hopes,  sir,  that  you  would  come  to  look  at 
the  proposed  marriage  with  Mabel  as  a  thing  I  ought  to 
wish  and  forward." 

"As  for  that,  sergeant,  time  will  show,"  returned 
Lundie,  smiling;  though  here,  too,  the  obscurity  con 
cealed  the  nicer  shades  of  expression;  "one  woman  is 
sometimes  more  difficult  to  manage  than  a  whole  regiment 
of  men.  By  the  way,  you  know  that  your  would-be  son- 
in-law,  the  quartermaster,  will  be  of  the  party;  and  I 
trust  you  will  at  least  give  him  an  equal  chance  in  the 
trial  for  your  daughter's  smiles." 

"If  respect  for  his  rank,  sir,  did  not  cause  me  to  do 
this,  your  honor's  wish  would  be  sufficient." 

"I  thank  you,  sergeant.  We  have  served  much  together, 
and  ought  to  value  each  other  in  our  several  stations. 
Understand  me,  however,  I  ask  no  more  for  Davy  Muir 
than  a  clear  field  and  no  favor.  In  love,  as  in  war,  each 
man  must  gain  his  own  victories.  Are  you  certain  that 
the  rations  have  been  properly  calculated?" 

"I'll  answer  for  it,  Major  Duncan;  but  if  they  were 
not,  we  cannot  suffer  with  two  such  hunters  as  Pathfinder 
and  the  Serpent  in  company. ' ' 

"That  will  never  do,  Dunham,"  interrupted  Lundie 
sharply ;  "and  it  comes  of  your  American  birth  and  Ameri 
can  training.  No  thorough  soldier  ever  relies  on  anything 
but  his  commissary  for  supplies;  and  I  beg  that  no  part 


THE  PATHFINDER  189 

of  my  regiment  may  be  the  first  to  set  an  example  to  the 
contrary, ' ' 

"You  have  only  to  command,  Major  Duncan,  to  be 
obeyed;  and  yet,  if  I  might  presume,  sir " 

"Speak  freely,  sergeant;  you  are  talking  with  a  friend." 

"I  was  merely  about  to  say  that  I  find  even  the  Scotch 
soldiers  like  venison  and  birds  quite  as  well  as  pork,  when 
they  are  difficult  to  be  had." 

"That  may  be  very  true;  but  likes  and  dislikes  have 
nothing  to  do  with  system.  An  army  can  rely  on  nothing 
but  its  commissaries.  The  irregularity  of  the  provincials 
has  played  the  devil  with  the  king's  service  too  often  to 
be  winked  at  any  longer." 

"General  Braddock,  your  honor,  might  have  been  ad 
vised  by  Colonel  Washington." 

"Out  upon  your  Washington!  You're  all  provincials 
together,  man,  and  uphold  each  other  as  if  you  were  of  a 
sworn  confederacy." 

"I  believe  his  majesty  has  no  more  loyal  subjects  than 
the  Americans,  your  honor." 

"In  that,  Dunham,  I'm  thinking  you're  right;  and  I 
have  been  a  little  too  warm,  perhaps.  I  do  not  consider 
you  a  provincial,  however,  sergeant;  for,  though  born  in 
America,  a  better  soldier  never  shouldered  a  musket." 

"And  Colonel  Washington,  your  honor?" 

"Well! — and  Colonel  Washington  may  be  a  useful  sub 
ject,  too.  He  is  the  American  prodigy;  and  I  suppose  I 
may  as  well  give  him  all  the  credit  you  ask.  You  have  no 
doubt  of  the  skill  of  this  Jasper  Eau-douce?" 

"The  boy  has  been  tried,  sir,  and  found  equal  to  all 
that  can  be  required  of  him." 

"He  has  a  French  name,  and  has  passed  much  of  his 
boyhood  in  the  French  colonies;  has  he  French  blood  in 
his  veins,  sergeant?" 

"Not  a  drop,  yeur  honor.  Jasper's  father  was  an  old 
comrade  of  my  own,  and  his  mother  came  of  an  honest 
and  loyal  family  in  this  very  province." 

"How  came  he  then  so  much  among  the  French,  and 
whence  his  name?  He  speaks  the  language  of  the 
Canadas,  too,  I  find." 

"That  is  easily  explained,   Major  Duncan.     The  boy 


190  THE  PATHFINDER 

was  left  under  the  care  of  one  of  our  mariners  in  the  old 
war,  and  he  took  to  the  water  like  a  duck.  Your  honor 
knows  that  we  have  no  ports  on  Ontario  that  can  be  named 
as  such,  and  he  naturally  passed  most  of  his  time  on  the 
other  side  of  the  lake,  where  the  French  have  had  a  few 
vessels  these  fifty  years.  He  learned  to  speak  their 
language,  as  a  matter  of  course,  and  got  his  name  from 
the  Indians  and  Canadians,  who  are  fond  of  calling  men 
by  their  qualities,  as  it  might  be." 

"A  French  master  is  but  a  poor  instructor  for  a  British 
sailor,  notwithstanding." 

"I  beg  your  pardon,  sir;  Jasper  Eau-doucewas  brought 
up  under  a  real  English  seaman,  one  that  had  sailed  under 
the  king's  pennant,  and  may  be  called  a  thoroughbred; 
that  is  to  say,  a  subject  born  in  the  colonies,  but  none 
the  worse  at  his  trade,  I  hope,  Major  Duncan,  for  that." 

"Perhaps  not,  sergeant,  perhaps  not;  nor  any  better. 
This  Jasper  behaved  well,  too,  when  I  gave  him  the  com 
mand  of  the  Scud;  no  lad  could  have  conducted  himself 
more  loyally  or  better." 

"Or  more  bravely,  Major  Duncan.  I  am  sorry  to  see, 
sir,  that  you  have  doubts  as  to  the  fidelity  of  Jasper. ' ' 

"It  is  the  duty  of  the  soldier  who  is  entrusted  with  the 
care  of  a  distant  and  important  post  like  this,  Dunham, 
never  to  relax  in  his  vigilance.  We  have  two  of  the  most 
artful  enemies  that  the  world  has  ever  produced,  in  their 
several  ways,  to  contend  with — the  Indians  and  the  French 
— and  nothing  should  be  overlooked  that  can  lead  to 
injury." 

"I  hope  your  honor  considers  me  fit  to  be  entrusted 
with  any  particular  reason  that  may  exist  for  doubting 
Jasper,  since  you  have  seen  fit  to  entrust  me  with  this 
command." 

"It  is  not  that  I  doubt  you,  Dunham,  that  I  hesitate  to 
reveal  all  I  may  happen  to  know;  but  from  a  strong  re 
luctance  to  circulate  an  evil  report  concerning  one  of 
whom  I  have  hitherto  thought  well.  You  must  think  well 
of  the  Pathfinder,  or  you  would  not  wish  to  give  him 
your  daughter? ' ' 

"For  the  Pathfinder's  honesty  I  will  answer  with  my 
life,  sir,"  returned  the  sergeant  firmly,  and  not  without 


THE  PATHFINDER  191 

a  dignity  of  manner  that  struck  his  superior.  "Such  a 
man  doesn't  know  how  to  be  false." 

"I  believe  you  are  right,  Dunham;  and  yet  this  last 
information  has  unsettled  all  my  old  opinions.  I  have 
received  an  anonymous  communication,  sergeant,  advising 
me  to  be  on  my  guard  against  Jasper  Western,  or  Jasper 
Eau-douce,  as  he  is  called,  who,  it  alleges,  has  been 
bought  by  the  enemy,  and  giving  me  reason  to  expect 
that  further  and  more  precise  information  will  soon  be 
sent." 

"Letters  without  signatures  to  them,  sir,  are  scarcely 
to  be  regarded  in  war. ' ' 

"Or  in  peace,  Dunham.  No  one  can  entertain  a  lower 
opinion  of  the  writer  of  an  anonymous  letter,  in  ordinary 
matters,  than  myself;  the  very  act  denotes  cowardice, 
meanness,  and  baseness;  and  it  usually  is  a  token  of  false 
hood,  as  well  as  of  other  vices.  But  in  matters  of  war  it 
is  not  exactly  the  same  thing.  Besides,  several  suspicious 
circumstances  have  been  pointed  out  to  me." 

"Such  as  is  fit  for  an  orderly  to  hear,  your  honor?" 

"Certainly,  one  in  whom  I  confide  as  much  as  in  your 
self,  Dunham.  It  is  said,  for  instance,  that  your  daughter 
and  her  party  were  permitted  to  escape  the  Iroquois,  when 
they  came  in,  merely  to  give  Jasper  credit  with  me.  I 
am  told  that  the  gentry  at  Frontenac  will  care  more  for 
the  capture  of  the  Scud,  with  Sergeant  Dunham  and  a 
party  of  men,  together  with  the  defeat  of  our  favorite 
plan,  than  for  the  capture  of  a  girl  and  the  scalp  of  her 
uncle." 

"I  understand  the  hint,  sir,  but  I  do  not  give  it  credit. 
Jasper  can  hardly  be  true,  and  Pathfinder  false;  and,  as 
for  the  last,  I  would  as  soon  distrust  your  honor  as 
distrust  him." 

"It  would  seem  so,  sergeant;  it  would  indeed  seem  so. 
But  Jasper  is  not  the  Pathfinder,  after  all;  and  I  will 
own,  Dunham,  I  should  put  more  faith  in  the  lad  if  he 
didn't  speak  French." 

"It's  no  recommendation  in  my  eyes,  I  assure  your 
honor;  but  the  boy  learned  it  by  compulsion,  as  it  were, 
and  ought  not  to  be  condemned  too  hastily  for  the  circum 
stance,  by  your  honor's  leave." 


192  THE  PATHFINDER 

"It's  a  d d  lingo,  and  never  did  any  one  good — at 

least  no  British  subject;  for  I  suppose  the  French  them 
selves  must  talk  together  in  some  language  or  other.  I 
should  have  much  more  faith  in  this  Jasper,  did  he  know 
nothing  of  their  language.  This  letter  has  made  me  un 
easy;  and,  were  there  another  to  whom  I  could  trust  the 
cutter,  I  would  devise  some  means  to  detain  him  here.  I 
have  spoken  to  you  already  of  a  brother-in-law,  who  goes 
with  you,  sergeant,  and  who  is  a  sailor?" 

"A  real  seafaring  man,  your  honor,  and  somewhat 
prejudiced  against  fresh  water.  I  doubt  if  he  could  be 
induced  to  risk  his  character  on  a  lake,  and  I'm  certain 
he  never  could  find  the  station." 

"The  last  is  probably  true,  and  then,  the  man  cannot 
know  enough  of  this  treacherous  lake  to  be  fit  for  the  em 
ployment.  You  will  have  to  be  doubly  vigilant,  Dun 
ham.  I  give  you  full  powers;  and  should  you  detect  this 
Jasper  in  any  treachery,  make  him  a  sacrifice  at  once  to 
offended  justice." 

"Being  in  the  service  of  the  crown,  your  honor,  he  is 
amenable  to  martial  law. ' ' 

"Very  true;  then  iron  him,  from  his  head  to  his  heels, 
and  send  him  up  here  in  his  own  cutter.  That  brother-in- 
law  of  yours  must  be  able  to  find  the  way  back,  after  he 
has  once  traveled  the  road." 

"I  make  no  doubt,  Major  Duncan,  we  shall  be  able  to 
do  all  that  will  be  necessary  should  Jasper  turn  out  as 
you  seem  to  anticipate;  though  I  think  I  would  risk  my 
life  on  his  truth." 

"I  like  your  confidence — it  speaks  well  for  the  fellow; 
but  that  infernal  letter!  there  is  such  an  air  of  truth 
about  it;  nay,  there  is  so  much  truth  in  it,  touching  other 
matters. ' ' 

"I  think  your  honor  said  it  wanted  the  name  at  the 
bottom;  a  great  omission  for  an  honest  man  to  make." 

"Quite  right,  Dunham,  and  no  one  but  a  rascal,  and  a 
cowardly  rascal  in  the  bargain,  would  write  an  anonymous 
letter  on  private  affairs.  It  is  different,  however,  in  war; 
despatches  are  feigned,  and  artifice  is  generally  allowed 
to  be  justifiable." 

"Military  manly  artifices,  sir,  if  you  will;  such  as  am- 


THE  PATHFINDER  193 

bushes,  surprises,  feints,  false  attacks,  and  even  spies; 
but  I  never  heard  of  a  true  soldier  who  could  wish  to 
undermine  the  character  of  an  honest  young  man  by  such 
means  as  these." 

"I  have  met  with  many  strange  events,  and  some 
stranger  people,  in  the  course  of  my  experience.  But 
fare  you  well,  sergeant;  I  must  detain  you  no  longer. 
You  are  now  on  your  guard,  and  I  recommend  to  you  un 
tiring  vigilance.  I  think  Muir  means  shortly  to  retire; 
and,  should  you  fully  succeed  in  this  enterprise,  my 
influence  will  not  be  wanting  in  endeavoring  to  put  you 
in  the  vacancy,  to  which  you  have  many  claims." 

"I  humbly  thank  your  honor,"  coolly  returned  the  ser 
geant,  who  had  been  encouraged  in  this  manner  any  time 
for  the  twenty  preceding  years,  "and  hope  I  shall  never 
disgrace  my  station,  whatever  it  may  be.  I  am  what 
nature  and  Providence  have  made  me,  and  hope  I'm 
satisfied." 

"You  have  not  forgotten  the  howitzer?" 

"Jasper  took  it  on  board  this  morning,  sir." 

"Be  wary,  and  do  not  trust  that  man  unnecessarily. 
Make  a  confidant  of  Pathfinder  at  once;  he  may  be  of 
service  in  detecting  any  villainy  that  may  be  stirring. 
His  simple  honesty  will  favor  his  observation  by  conceal 
ing  it.  He  must  be  true." 

"For  him,  sir,  my  own  head  shall  answer,  or  even  my 
rank  in  the  regiment.  I  have  seen  him  too  often  tried 
to  doubt  him." 

"Of  all  wretched  sensations,  Dunham,  distrust,  where 
one  is  compelled  to  confide,  is  the  most  painful.  You 
have  bethought  you  of  the  spare  flints?' 

"A  sergeant  is  a  safe  commander  for  all  such  details, 
your  honor." 

"Well,  then,  give  me  your  hand,  Dunham.     God 
you!  and  may  you  be  successful !    Muir  means  to  retire- 
by  the  way,  let  the  man  have  an  equal  chance  with  your 
daughter,  for  it  may  facilitate  future  operations  about 
the  promotion.     One  would  retire  more  cheerfully  with 
such  a  companion  as  Mabel,  than  in  cheerless  widowhood, 
and  with  nothing  but  oneself  to  love— and  such  a  « 
too,  as  Davy's!" 
13 


194  THE  PATHFINDER 

"I  hope,  sir,  my  child  will  make  a  prudent  choice,  and 
I  think  her  mind  is  already  pretty  much  made  up  in  favor 
of  Pathfinder.  Still  she  shall  have  fair  play,  though  dis 
obedience  is  the  next  crime  to  mutiny." 

"Have  all  the  ammunition  carefully  examined  and  dried 
as  soon  as  you  arrive;  the  damp  of  the  lake  may  affect  it. 
And  now,  once  more,  farewell,  sergeant.  Beware  of  that 
Jasper,  and  consult  with  Muir  in  any  difficulty.  I  shall 
expect  you  to  return,  triumphant,  this  day  month. ' ' 

"God  bless  your  honor!  If  anything  should  happen  to 
me,  I  trust  you,  Major  Duncan,  to  care  for  an  old  soldier's 
character. ' ' 

"Rely  on  me,  Dunham — you  will  rely  on  a  friend.  Be 
vigilant;  remember  you  will  be  in  the  very  jaws  of  the 
lion;  pshaw!  of  no  lion  neither;  but  of  treacherous  tigers; 
in  their  very  jaws,  and  beyond  support.  Have  the  flints 
counted  and  examined  in  the  morning — and — farewell, 
Dunham,  farewell!" 

The  sergeant  took  the  extended  hand  of  his  superior 
with  proper  respect,  and  they  finally  parted;  Lundie 
hastening  into  his  own  movable  abode,  while  the  other 
left  the  fort,  descended  to  the  beach,  and  got  into  a 
boat. 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  Sergeant  Dunham,  after  he 
had  parted  from  his  commanding  officer,  was  likely  to 
forget  the  injunctions  he  had  received.  He  thought  highly 
of  Jasper  in  general ;  but  distrust  had  been  insinuated 
between  his  former  confidence  and  the  obligations  of  duty; 
and,  as  he  now  felt  that  everything  depended  on  his  own 
vigilance,  by  the  time  the  boat  reached  the  side  of  the 
Scud  he  was  in  a  proper  humor  to  let  no  suspicious  circum 
stance  go  unheeded,  or  any  unusual  movement  in  the 
young  sailor  pass  without  its  comment.  As  a  matter  of 
course,  he  viewed  things  in  the  light  suited  to  his  peculiar 
mood;  and  his  precautions,  as  well  as  his  distrust,  par 
took  of  the  habits,  opinions,  and  education  of  the  man. 

The  Scud's  kedge  was  lifted  as  soon  as  the  boat  with  the 
sergeant,  who  was  the  last  person  expected,  was  seen  to 
quit  the  shore,  and  the  head  of  the  cutter  was  cast  to  the 
eastward  by  means  of  the  sweeps.  A  few  vigorous  strokes 
of  the  latter,  in  which  the  soldiers  aided,  now  sent  the 


THE  PATHFINDER  195 

light  craft  into  the  line  or  the  current  that  flowed  from 
the  river,  when  she  was  suffered  to  drift  into  the  offing 
again.  As  yet  there  was  no  wind,  the  light  and  almost 
imperceptible  air  from  the  lake,  that  had  existed  previously 
to  the  setting  of  the  sun,  having  entirely  failed. 

All  this  time  an  unusual  quiet  prevailed  in  the  cutter. 
It  appeared  as  if  those  on  board  of  her  felt  that  they  were 
entering  upon  an  uncertain  enterprise,  in  the  obscurity 
of  night;  and  that  their  duty,  the  hour  and  the  manner 
of  their  departure  lent  a  solemnity  to  their  movements. 
Discipline  also  came  in  aid  of  these  feelings.  Most  were 
silent;  and  those  who  did  speak  spoke  seldom  and  in  low 
voices.  In  this  manner  the  cutter  set  slowly  out  into  the 
lake,  until  she  had  got  as  far  as  the  river  current  would 
carry  her,  when  she  became  stationary,  waiting  for  the  usual 
land-breeze.  An  interval  of  half  an  hour  followed,  during 
the  whole  of  which  time  the  Scud  lay  as  motionless  as  a 
log,  floating  on  the  water.  While  the  little  changes  just 
mentioned  were  occurring  in  the  situation  of  the  vessel, 
notwithstanding  the  general  quiet  that  prevailed,  all  con 
versation  had  not  been  repressed;  for  Sergeant  Dunham, 
having  first  ascertained  that  both  his  daughter  and  her 
female  companion  were  on  the  quarter-deck,  led  the  Path 
finder  to  the  after-cabin,  where,  closing  the  door  with 
great  caution,  and  otherwise  making  certain  that  he  was 
beyond  the  reach  of  eavesdroppers,  he  commenced  as 
follows: 

"It  is  now  many  years,  my  friend,  since  you  began  to 
experience  the  hardships  and  dangers  of  the  woods  in  my 
company." 

"It  is,  sergeant;  yes,  it  is.  I  sometimes  fear  I  am  too 
old  for  Mabel,  who  was  not  born  until  you  and  I  had 
fought  the  Frenchers  as  comrades. 

"No  fear  on  that  account,  Pathfinder.  I  was  near  your 
age  before  I  prevailed  on  the  mind  of  her  mother;  and 
Mabel  is  a  steady,  thoughtful  girl,  one  that  will  regard 
character  more  than  anything  else.  A  lad  like  Jasper 
Eau-douce,  for  instance,  will  have  no  chance  with  her, 
though  he  is  both  young  and  comely. ' ' 

"Does  Jasper  think  of  marrying?"  inquired  the  guide, 
simply  but  earnestly. 


196  THE  PATHFINDER 

"I  should  hope  not — at  least,  not  until  he  has  satisfied 
every  one  of  his  fitness  to  possess  a  wife." 

"Jasper  is  a  gallant  boy,  and  one  of  great  gifts  in  his 
way;  he  may  claim  a  wife  as  well  as  another." 

"To  be  frank  with  you,  Pathfinder,  I  brought  you  here 
to  talk  about  this  very  youngster.  Major  Duncan  has 
received  some  information  which  has  led  him  to  suspect 
that  Eau-douce  is  false,  and  in  the  pay  of  the  enemy;  I 
wish  to  hear  your  opinion  on  the  subject." 

"Anan?" 

"I  say,  the  major  suspects  Jasper  of  being  a  traitor — 
a  French  spy — or,  what  is  worse,  of  being  bought  to  be 
tray  us.  He  has  received  a  letter  to  this  effect,  and  has 
been  charging  me  to  keep  an  eye  on  the  boy's  movements; 
for  he  fears  we  shall  meet  with  enemies  when  we  least 
suspect  it,  and  by  his  means. ' ' 

"Duncan  of  Lundie  has  told  you  this,  Sergeant  Dun 
ham?" 

"He  has  indeed,  Pathfinder;  and,  though  I  have  been 
loath  to  believe  anything  to  the  injury  of  Jasper,  I  have 
a  feeling  which  tells  me  I  ought  to  distrust  him.  Do  you 
believe  in  presentiments,  my  friend?" 

' '  In  what,  sergeant? ' ' 

"Presentiments — a  sort  of  secret  foreknowledge  of 
events  that  are  about  to  happen.  The  Scotch  of  our  regi 
ment  are  great  sticklers  for  such  things;  and  my  opinion 
of  Jasper  is  changing  so  fast,  that  I  begin  to  fear  there 
must  be  some  truth  in  their  doctrines." 

"But  you've  been  talking  with  Duncan  of  Lundie  con 
cerning  Jasper,  and  his  words  have  raised  misgivings." 

"Not  it,  not  so  in  the  least;  for,  while  conversing  with 
the  major,  my  feelings  were  altogether  the  other  way; 
and  I  endeavored  to  convince  him  all  I  could  that  he  did 
the  boy  injustice.  But  there  is  no  use  in  holding  out 
against  a  presentiment  I  find;  and  I  fear  there  is  some 
thing  in  the  suspicion  after  all." 

"I  know  nothing  of  presentiments,  sergeant;  but  I 
have  known  Jasper  Eau-douce  since  he  was  a  boy,  and  I 
have  as  much  faith  in  his  honesty  as  I  have  in  my  own,  or 
that  of  the  Sarpent  himself." 

"But  the  Serpent,  Pathfinder,  has  his  tricks  and  am 
bushes  in  war  as  well  as  another." 


THE  PATHFINDER  197 

"Ay,  them  are  his  nat'ral  gifts,  and  are  such  as  belong 
to  his  people.  Neither  red-skin  nor  pale  face  can  deny 
natur' ;  but  Chingachgook  is  not  a  man  to  feel  a  presen 
timent  against." 

"That  I  believe;  nor  should  I  have  thought  ill  of  Jasper 
this  very  morning.  It  seems  to  me,  Pathfinder,  since  I've 
taken  up  this  presentiment,  that  the  lad  does  not  bustle 
about  his  deck  naturally,  as  he  used  to  do;  but  that  he  is 
silent  and  moody  and  thoughtful,  like  a  man  who  has  a 
load  on  his  conscience." 

"Jasper  is  never  noisy;  and  he  tells  me  noisy  ships  are 
generally  ill-worked  ships.  Master  Cap  agrees  in  this,  too. 
No,  no;  I  will  believe  naught  against  Jasper  until  I  see 
it.  Send  for  your  brother,  sergeant,  and  let  us  question 
him  in  this  matter;  for  to  sleep  with  distrust  of  one's 
friend  in  the  heart  is  like  sleeping  with  lead  there.  I 
have  no  faith  in  your  presentiments." 

The  sergeant,  although  he  scarcely  knew  himself  with 
what  object,  complied,  and  Cap  was  summoned  to  join  in 
the  consultation.  As  Pathfinder  was  more  collected  than 
his  companion,  and  felt  so  strong  a  conviction  of  the  good 
faith  of  the  party  accused,  he  assumed  the  office  of 
spokesman. 

"We  have  asked  you  to  come  down,  Master  Cap,"  he 
commenced,  "in  order  to  inquire  if  you  have  remarked 
anything  out  of  the  common  way  in  the  movements  of 
Eau-douce  this  evening." 

"His  movements  are  common  enough,  I  daresay,  for 
fresh  water,  Master  Pathfinder,  though  we  should  think 
most  of  his  proceedings  irregular  down  on  the  coast." 

"Yes,  yes;  we  know  you  will  never  agree  with  the  lad 
about  the  manner  the  cutter  ought  to  be  managed;  but  it 
is  on  another  point  we  wish  your  opinion." 

The  Pathfinder  then  explained  to  Cap  the  nature  of  the 
suspicions  which  the  sergeant  entertained,  and  the  reasons 
why  they  had  been  excited,  so  far  as  the  latter  had  been 
communicated  by  Major  Duncan. 

"The  youngster  talks  French,  does  he?"  said  Cap. 

"They  say  he  speaks  it  better  than  common,"  returned 
the  sergeant  gravely.  "Pathfinder  knows  this  to  be  true. " 

"I'll  not  gainsay  it,"  answered  the  guide;  "at  least, 


198  THE  PATHFINDER 

they  tell  me  such  is  the  fact.  But  this  would  prove 
nothing  ag'in  a  Mississagua,  and,  least  of  all,  ag'in  one 
like  Jasper.  I  speak  the  Mingo  dialect  myself,  having 
learnt  it  while  a  prisoner  among  the  reptyles;  but  who 
will  say  I  am  their  friend?  Not  that  I  am  an  enemy, 
either,  according  to  Indian  notions;  though  1  am  their 
enemy,  I  will  admit,  agreeable  to  Christianity." 

"Ay,  Pathfinder;  but  Jasper  did  not  get  his  French  as 
a  prisoner;  he  took  it  in  boyhood,  when  the  mind  is 
easily  impressed,  and  gets  its  permanent  notions;  when 
nature  has  'a  presentiment,  as  it  were,  which  way  the 
character  is  likely  to  incline." 

"A  very  just  remark,"  added  Cap,  "for  that  is  the 
time  of  life  when  we  all  learn  the  catechism,  and  other 
moral  improvements.  The  sergeant's  observation  shows 
that  he  understands  human  nature,  and  I  agree  with  him 
perfectly;  it  is  a  damnable  thing  for  a  youngster,  up 
here,  on  this  bit  of  fresh  water,  to  talk  French.  If  it 
were  down  on  the  Atlantic,  now,  where  a  seafaring  man 
has  occasion  sometimes  to  converse  with  a  pilot,  or  a 
linguister,  in  that  language,  I  should  not  think  so  much 
of  it — though  we  always  look  with  suspicion,  even  there, 
at  a  shipmate  who  knows  too  much  of  the  tongue;  but  up 
here,  on  Ontario,  I  hold  it  to  be  a  most  suspicious  cir 
cumstance.  ' ' 

"But  Jasper  must  talk  in  French  to  the  people  on  the 
other  shore,"  said  Pathfinder,  "or  hold  his  tongue,  as 
there  are  none  but  French  to'  speak  to. ' ' 

"You  don't  mean  to  tell  me,  Pathfinder,  that  France 
lies  hereaway,  on  the  opposite  coast?"  cried  Cap,  jerking 
a  thumb  over  his  shoulder  in  the  direction  of  the  Canadas; 
"that  one  side  of  this  bit  of  fresh  water  is  York,  and  the 
other  France?" 

"I  mean  to  tell  you  this  is  York,  and  that  is  Upper 
Canada;  and  that  English  and  Dutch  and  Indian  are  spoken 
in  the  first,  and  French  and  Indian  in  the  last.  Even  the 
Mingoes  have  got  many  of  the  French  words  in  their 
dialect,  and  it  is  no  improvement,  neither." 

"Very  true;  and  what  sort  of  people  are  the  Mingoes, 
my  friend?"  inquired  the  sergeant,  touching  the  other 
on  his  shoulder,  by  way  of  enforcing  a  remark,  the  in- 


THE  PATHFINDER  199 

herent  truth  of  which  sensibly  increased  its  value  in  the 
eyes  of  the  speaker;  "no  one  knows  them  better  than 
yourself,  and  I  ask  you  what  sort  of  a  tribe  are  they?" 

"Jasper  is  no  Mingo,  sergeant." 

"He  speaks  French,  and  he  might  as  well  be,  in  that 
particular.  Brother  Cap,  can  you  recollect  no  movement 
of  this  unfortunate  young  man,  in  the  way  of  his  calling, 
that  would  seem  to  denote  treachery?" 

"Not  distinctly,  sergeant,  though  he  has  gone  to  work 
wrong-end  foremost  half  his  time.  It  is  true  that  one  of 
his  hands  coiled  a  rope  against  the  sun,  and  he  called  it 
guerling  a  rope,  too,  when  asked  him  what  he  was  about; 
but  I  am  not  certain  that  anything  was  meant  by  it; 
though,  I  daresay,  the  French  coil  half  their  running  rig 
ging  the  wrong  way,  and  may  call  it  'querling  it  down,' 
too,  for  that  matter.  Then  Jasper  himself  belayed  the 
end  of  the  jib-halyards. to  a  stretcher  in  the  rigging,  in 
stead  of  bringing  in  to  the  mast,  where  they  belong,  at 
least  among  British  sailors." 

"I  daresay  Jasper  may  have  got  some  Canada  notions 
about  working  his  craft,  from  being  so  much  on  the  other 
side,"  Pathfinder  interposed;  "but  catching  an  idee,  or 
a  word,  isn't  treachery  and  bad  faith.  I  sometimes  get 
an  idee  from  the  Mingoes  themselves;  but  my  heart  has 
always  been  with  the  Delawares.  No,  no,  Jasper  is  true; 
and  the  king  might  trust  him  with  his  crown,  just  as  he 
would  trust  his  eldest  son,  who,  as  he  is  to  wear  it  one 
day,  ought  to  be  the  last  man  to  wish  to  steal  it." 

"Fine  talking,  fine  talking!"  said  Cap;  "all  fine  talk 
ing,  Master  Pathfinder,  butd d  little  logic.  In  the  first 

place,  the  king's  majesty  cannot  lend  his  crown,  it  being 
contrary  to  the  laws  of  the  realm,  which  require  him  to 
wear  it  at  all  times,  in  order  that  his  sacred  person  may 
be  known,  just  as  the  silver  oar  is  necessary  to  a  sheriff's 
officer  afloat.  In  the  next  place,  it's  high  treason,  by 
law,  for  the  eldest  son  of  his  majesty  ever  to  covet  the 
crown,  or  to  have  a  child,  except  in  lawful  wedlock,  as 
either  would  derange  the  succession.  Thus  you  see, 
friend  Pathfinder  that  in  order  to  reason  truly,  one  must 
get  under  way,  as  it  might  be,  on  the  right  tack.  Law 
is  reason,  and  reason  is  philosophy,  and  philosophy  is  a 


200  THE  PATHFINDER 

steady  drag;  whence  it  follows  that  crowns  are  regulated 
by  law,  reason,  and  philosophy." 

"I  know  little  of  all  this,  Master  Cap;  but  nothing 
short  of  seeing  and  feeling  will  make  me  think  Jasper 
Western  a  traitor." 

"There  you  are  wrong  again,  Pathfinder;  for  there  is 
a  way  of  proving  a  thing  much  more  conclusively  than  by 
either  seeing  or  feeling,  or  by  both  together;  and  that  is 
by  a  circumstance." 

"It  may  be  so  in  the  settlements;  but  it  is  not  so  here 
on  the  lines." 

"It  is  so  in  nature,  which  is  monarch  over  all.  There 
was  a  circumstance,  just  after  we  came  on  board  this 
evening,  that  is  extremely  suspicious,  and  which  may  be 
set  down  at  once  as  a  makeweight  against  this  lad.  Jasper 
bent  on  the  king's  ensign  with  his  own  hands;  and,  while 
he  pretended  to  be  looking  at  Mabel  and  the  soldier's 
wife,  giving  directions  about  showing  them  below  here, 
and  all  that,  he  got  the  flag  union  down!" 

"That  might  have  been  accident,"  returned  the  ser 
geant,  "for  such  a  thing  has  happened  to  myself;  besides, 
the  halyards  lead  to  a  pulley,  and  the  flag  would  have 
come  right,  or  not,  according  to  the  manner  in  which  the 
lad  hoisted  it." 

"A  pulley!"  exclaimed  Cap,  with  strong  disgust;  "I 
wish,  Sergeant  Dunham,  I  could  prevail  on  you  to  use 
proper  terms.  An  ensign-halyard-block  is  no  more  a 
pulley  than  your  halbert  is  a  boarding-pike.  It  is  true 
that  by  hoisting  on  one  part,  another  part  would  go  up 
permost;  but  I  look  upon  that  affair  of  the  ensign,  now 
you  have  mentioned  your  suspicions,  as  a  circumstance, 
and  shall  bear  it  in  mind.  I  trust  supper  is  not  to  be 
overlooked,  however,  even  if  we  have  a  hold  full  of 
traitors." 

"It  will  be  duly  attended  to,  brother  Cap;  but  I  shall 
count  on  you  for  aid  in  managing  the  Scud,  should  any 
thing  occur  to  induce  me  to  arrest  Jasper." 

"I'll  not  fail  you,  sergeant;  and  in  such  an  event  you'll 
probably  learn  what  this  cutter  can  really  perform;  for, 
as  yet,  I  fancy  it  is  pretty  much  matter  of  guesswork." 

"Well,  for  my  part,"  said  Pathfinder,  drawing  a  heavy 


THE  PATHFINDER  201 

sigh,  "I  shall  cling  to  the  hope  of  Jasper's  innocence, 
and  recommend  plain  dealing,  by  asking  the  lad  himself, 
without  further  delay,  whether  he  is  or  is  not  a  traitor. 
I'll  put  Jasper  Western  against  all  the  presentiments  and 
circumstances  in  the  colony." 

"That  will  never  do,"  rejoined  the  sergeant.  "The 
responsibility  of  this  affair  rests  with  me,  and  I  request 
and  enjoin  that  nothing  be  said  to  any  one  without  my 
knowledge.  We  will  all  keep  watchful  eyes  about  us,  and 
take  proper  note  of  circumstances." 

"Ay,  ay!  circumstances  are  the  things  after  all,"  re 
turned  Cap.  "One  circumstance  is  worth  fifty  facts. 
That  I  know  to  be  the  law  of  the  realm.  Many  a  man 
has  been  hanged  on  circumstances." 

The  conversation  now  ceased,  and,  after  a  short  delay, 
the  whole  party  returned  to  the  deck,  each  individual 
disposed  to  view  the  conduct  of  the  suspected  Jasper  in 
the  manner  most  suited  to  his  own  habits  and  character. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

"Even  such  a  man,  so  faint,  so  spiritless, 
So  dull,  so  dead  in  look,  so  woe-begone, 
Drew  Priam's  curtain  in  the  dead  of  night, 
And  would  have  told  him,  half  his  Troy  was  burned.  " 

—SHAKESPEARE. 

ALL  this  time  matters  were  elsewhere  passing  in  their 
usual  train.  Jasper,  like  the  weather  and  his  vessel, 
seemed  to  be  waiting  for  the  land  breeze;  while  the 
soldiers,  accustomed  to  early  rising,  had,  to  a  man,  sought 
their  pallets  in  the  main  hold.  None  remained  on  deck 
but  the  people  of  the  cutter,  Mr.  Muir,  and  the  two  fe 
males.  The  quartermaster  was  endeavoring  to  render 
himself  agreeable  to  Mabel,  while  our  heroine  herself, 
little  affected  by  his  assiduities,  which  she  ascribed  partly 
to  the  habitual  gallantry  of  a  soldier,,  and  partly,  perhaps, 
to  her  own  pretty  face,  was  enjoying  the  peculiarities  of 
a  scene  and  situation  which,  to  her,  were  full  of  the 
charms  of  novelty. 

The  sails  had  been  hoisted,  but  as  yet  not  a  breath  of 
air  was  in  motion;  and  so  still  and  placid  was  the  lake, 
that  not  the  smallest  motion  was  perceptible  in  the  cutter. 
She  had  drifted  in  the  river  current  to  a  distance  a  little 
exceeding  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  land,  and  there 
she  lay,  beautiful  in  her  symmetry  and  form,  but  like 
a  fixture.  Young  Jasper  was  on  the  quarter-deck,  near 
enough  to  hear  occasionally  the  conversation  which  passed ; 
but  too  diffident  of  his  own  claim,  and  too  intent  on  his 
duties,  to  attempt  to  mingle  in  it.  The  fine  blue  eyes  of 
Mabel  followed  his  motions  in  curious  expectation,  and 
more  than  once  the  quartermaster  had  to  repeat  his  com 
pliments  before  she  heard  them,  so  intent  was  she  on  the 
little  occurrences  of  the  vessel,  and,  we  might  add,  so  in 
different  to  the  eloquence  of  her  companion.  At  length, 
even  Mr.  Muir  became  silent,  and  there  was  a  deep  still 
ness  on  the  water.  Presently  an  oar-blade  fell  in  a  boat 

202 


THE  PATHFINDER  203 

beneath  the  fort,  and  the  sound  reached  the  cutter  as  dis 
tinctly  as  if  it  had  been  produced  on  her  deck.  Then  came 
a  murmur,  like  a  sigh  of  the  night,  a  fluttering  of  the 
canvas,  the  creaking  of  the  boom,  and  the  flap  of  the  jib. 
These  well-known  sounds  were  followed  by  a  slight  heel 
in  the  cutter,  and  by  the  bellying  of  all  the  sails. 

' 'Here's  the  wind,  Anderson,"  called  out  Jasper  to  the 
oldest  of  his  sailors;  "take  the  helm." 

This  brief  order  was  obeyed;  the  helm  was  put  up,  the 
cutter's  bows  fell  off,  and  in  a  few  minutes  the  water  was 
heard  murmuring  under  her  head,  as  the  Scud  glanced 
through  the  lake  at  the  rate  of  five  miles  in  the  hour. 
All  this  passed  in  profound  silence,  when  Jasper  again 
gave  the  order  to  "ease  off  the  sheets  a  little  and  keep 
her  along  the  land." 

It  was  at  this  instant  that  the  party  from  the  after- 
cabin  reappeared  on  the  quarter-deck. 

"You've  no  inclination,  Jasper  lad,  to  trust  yourself 
too  near  our  neighbors,  the  French,"  observed  Muir,  who 
took  that  occasion  to  recommence  the  discourse.  "Well, 
well,  your  prudence  will  never  be  questioned  by  me,  for  I 
like  the  Canadas  as  little  as  you  can  possibly  like  them 
yourself." 

"I  hug  this  shore,  Mr.  Muir,  on  account  of  the  wind. 
The  land  breeze  is  always  freshest  close  in,  provided  you 
are  not  so  near  as  to  make  a  lee  of  the  trees.  We  have 
Mexico  Bay  to  cross;  and  that,  on  the  present  course, 
will  give  us  quite  offing  enough." 

"I'm  right  glad  it's  not  the  Bay  of  Mexico,"  put  in 
Cap,  "which  is  a  part  of  the  world  I  would  rather  not 
visit  in  one  of  your  inland  craft.  Does  your  cutter  bear 
a  weather  helm,  master  Eau-douce?" 

"She  is  easy  on  the  rudder,  master  Cap;  but  likes  look 
ing  up  at  the  breeze  as  well  as  another,  when  in  lively 
motion." 

"I  suppose  you  have  such  things  as  reefs,  though  you 
can  hardly  have  occasion  to  use  them?" 

Mabel's  bright  eye  detected  the  smile  that  gleamed  for 
an  instant  on  Jasper's  handsome  face;  but  no  one  else  saw 
that  momentary  exhibition  of  surprise  and  contempt.  ^ 

"We  have  reefs,  and  often  have  occasion  to  use  them, 


204  THE  PATHFINDER 

quietly  returned  the  young  man.  "Before  we  get  in, 
Master  Cap,  an  opportunity  may  offer  to  show  you  the 
manner  in  which  we  do  so;  for  there  is  easterly  weather 
brewing,  and  the  wind  cannot  chop,  even  on  the  ocean  it 
self,  more  readily  than  it  flies  round  on  Lake  Ontario." 

"So  much  for  knowing  no  better!  I  have  seen  the 
wind  in  the  Atlantic  fly  round  like  a  coach-wheel,  in  a 
way  to  keep  your  sails  shaking  for  an  hour,  and  the  ship 
would  become  perfectly  motionless  from  not  knowing 
which  way  to  turn. ' ' 

"We  have  no  such  sudden  changes  here,  certainly," 
Jasper  mildly  answered;  "though  we  think  ourselves 
liable  to  unexpected  shifts  of  wind.  I  hope,  however,  to 
carry  this  land  breeze  as  far  as  the  first  islands;  after 
which  there  will  be  less  danger  of  our  being  seen  and 
followed  by  any  of  the  lookout  boats  from  Frontenac. ' ' 

"Do  you  think  the  French  keep  spies  out  on  the  broad 
lake,  Jasper?"  inquired  the  Pathfinder. 

"We  know  they  do;  one  was  off  Oswego  during  the 
night  of  Monday  last.  A  bark  canoe  came  close  in  with 
the  eastern  point,  and  landed  an  Indian  and  an  officer. 
Had  you  been  outlying  that  night,  as  usual,  we  should 
have  secured  one,  if  not  both  of  them. ' ' 

It  was  too  dark  to  betray  the  color  that  deepened  on  the 
weather-burnt  features  of  the  guide;  for  he  felt  the  con 
sciousness  of  having  lingered  in  the  fort  that  night, 
listening  to  the  sweet  tones  of  Mabel's  voice  as  she  sang 
ballads  to  her  father,  and  gazing  at  the  countenance 
which,  to  him,  was  radiant  with  charms.  Probity  in 
thought  and  deed  being  the  distinguishing  quality  of  this 
extraordinary  man's  mind,  while  he  felt  that  a  sort  of 
disgrace  ought  to  attach  to  his  idleness  on  the  occasion 
mentioned,  the  last  thought  that  could  occur  would  be  to 
attempt  to  palliate  or  deny  his  negligence. 

"I  confess  it,  Jasper,  I  confess  it,"  said  he  humbly. 
"Had  I  been  out  that  night — and  I  now  recollect  no  suffi 
cient  reason  why  I  was  not — it  might,  indeed,  have 
turned  out  as  you  say. ' ' 

"It  was  the  evening  you  passed  with  us,  Pathfinder," 
Mabel  innocently  remarked;  "surely  one  who  lives  so 
much  of  his  time  in  the  forest,  in  front  of  the  enemy, 


THE  PATHFINDBR  205 

may  be  excused  for  giving  a  few  hours  of  his  time  to  an 
old  friend  and  his  daughter." 

"Nay,  nay,  I've  done  little  else  but  idle  since  we 
reached  the  garrison,"  returned  the  other,  sighing;  "and 
it  is  well  that  the  lad  should  tell  me  of  it;  the  idler  needs 
a  rebuke — yes,  he  needs  a  rebuke. ' ' 

"Rebuke,  Pathfinder!  I  never  dreamt  of  saying  any 
thing  disagreeable,  and  least  of  all  would  I  think  of  re 
buking  you,  because  a  solitary  spy  and  an  Indian  or  two 
have  escaped  us.  Now  I  know  where  you  were,  I  think 
your  absence  the  most  natural  thing  in  the  world." 

"I  think  nothing  of  what  you  said,  Jasper,  since  it  was 
deserved.  We  are  all  human,  and  all  do  wrong." 

"This  is  unkind,  Pathfinder." 

"Give  me  your  hand,  lad,  give  me  your  hand.  It 
wasn't  you  that  gave  the  lesson;  it  was  conscience." 

"Well,  well,"  interrupted  Cap;  "now  this  latter  mat 
ter  is  settled  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  parties,  perhaps 
you  will  tell  us  how  it  happened  to  be  known  that  there 
were  spies  near  us  so  lately.  This  looks  amazingly  like  a 
circumstance." 

As  the  mariner  uttered  the  last  sentence,  he  pressed  a 
foot  slily  on  that  of  the  sergeant,  and  nudged  the  guide 
with  his  elbow,  winking  at  the  same  time,  though  this 
sign  was  lost  in  the  obscurity. 

"It  is  known,  because  their  trail  was  found  next  day 
by  the  Serpent,  and  it  was  that  of  a  military  boot  and  a 
moccasin.  One  of  our  hunters,  moreover,  saw  the  canoe 
crossing  towards  Frontenac  next  morning." 

"Did  the  trail  lead  near  the  garrison,  Jasper?"  Path 
finder  asked  in  a  manner  so  meek  and  subdued  that  it  re 
sembled  the  tone  of  a  rebuked  schoolboy.  "Did  the  trail 
lead  near  the  garrison,  lad?" 

"We  thought  not;  though,  of  course,  it  did  not  cross 
the  river.  It  was  followed  down  to  the  eastern  point,  at 
the  river's  mouth,  where  what  was  doing  in  port  might 
be  seen;  but  it  did  not  cross,  as  we  could  discover." 

"And  why  didn't  you  get  under  weigh,  Master  Jasper, " 
Cap  demanded,  "and  give  chase?  On  Tuesday  morning  ii 
blew  a  good  breeze;  one  in  which  this  cutter  might  have 
run  nine  knots." 


206  THE  PATHFINDER 

"That  may  do  on  the  ocean,  Master  Cap,"  put  in  Path 
finder,  "but  it  would  not  do  here.  Water  leaves  no  trail, 
and  a  Mingo  and  a  Frenchman  are  a  match  for  the  devil 
in  a  pursuit." 

"Who  wants  a  trail  when  the  chase  can  be  seen  from 
the  deck,  as  Jasper  here  said  was  the  case  with  this  canoe? 
and  it  mattered  nothing  if  there  were  twenty  of  your 
Mingoes  and  Frenchmen,  with  a  good  British-built  bot 
tom  in  their  wake.  I'll  engage,  Master  Eau-douce,  had 
you  given  me  a  call  that  said  Tuesday  morning,  that  we 
should  have  overhauled  the  blackguards. ' ' 

"I  daresay,  Master  Cap,  that  the  advice  of  as  old  a 
seaman  as  you  might  have  done  no  harm  to  as  young  a 
sailor  as  myself,  but  it  is  a  long  and  a  hopeless  chase  that 
has  a  bark  canoe  in  it." 

"You  would  have  had  only  to  press  it  hard,  to  drive  it 
ashore. ' ' 

"Ashore,  master  Cap!  You  do  not  understand  our  lake 
navigation  at  all,  if  you  suppose  it  an  easy  matter  to 
force  a  bark  canoe  ashore.  As  soon  as  they  find  them 
selves  pressed,  these  bubbles  paddle  right  into  the  wind's 
eye,  and  before  you  know  it,  you  find  yourself  a  mile  or 
two  dead  under  their  lee." 

"You  don't  wish  me  to  believe,  Master  Jasper,  that 
any  one  is  so  heedless  of  drowning  as  to  put  off  into  this 
lake  in  one  of  them  eggshells  when  there  is  any  wind?" 

"I  have  often  crossed  Ontario  in  a  bark  canoe,  even 
when  there  has  been  a  good  deal  of  sea  on.  Well  man 
aged,  they  are  the  driest  boats  of  which  we  have  any 
knowledge." 

Cap  now  led  his  brother-in-law  and  Pathfinder  aside, 
when  he  assured  him  that  the  admission  of  Jasper  con 
cerning  the  spies  was  "a  circumstance,"  and  "a  strong 
circumstance,"  and  as  such  it  deserved  his  deliberate 
investigation;  while  his  account  of  the  canoes  was  so  im 
probable  as  to  wear  the  appearance  of  brow-beating  the 
listeners.  Jasper  spoke  confidently  of  the  character  of 
the  two  individuals  who  had  landed,  and  this  Cap  deemed 
pretty  strong  proof  that  he  knew  more  about  them  than 
was  to  be  gathered  from  a  mere  trail.  As  for  moccasins, 
he  said  that  they  were  worn  in  that  part  of  the  world  by 


THE  PATHFINDER  207 

white  men  as  well  as  by  Indians;  he  had  purchased  a  pair 
himself;  and  boots,  it  was  notorious,  did  not  particularly 
make  a  soldier.  Although  much  of  this  logic  was  thrown 
away  on  the  sergeant,  still  it  produced  some  effect.  He 
thought  it  a  little  singular  himself,  that  there  should 
have  been  spies  detected  so  near  the  fort  and  he  know 
nothing  of  it;  nor  did  he  believe  that  this  was  a  branch 
of  knowledge  that  fell  particularly  within  the  sphere  of 
Jasper.  It  was  true  that  the  Scud  had,  once  or  twice, 
been  sent  across  the  lake  to  land  men  of  this  character, 
or  to  bring  them  off;  but  then  the  part  played  by  Jasper, 
to  his  own  certain  knowledge,  was  very  secondary,  the 
master  of  the  cutter  remaining  as  ignorant  as  any  one 
else  of  the  purport  of  the  visits  of  those  whom  he  had 
carried  to  and  fro;  nor  did  he  see  why  he  alone,  of  all 
present,  should  know  anything  of  the  late  visit.  Path 
finder  viewed  the  matter  differently.  With  his  habitual 
diffidence,  he  reproached  himself  with  a  neglect  of  duty, 
and  that  knowledge,  of  which  the  want  struck  him  as  a 
fault  in  one  whose  business  it  was  to  possess  it,  appeared 
a  merit  in  the  young  man.  He  saw  nothing  extraordinary 
in  Jasper's  knowing  the  facts  he  had  related;  while  he 
did  feel  it  was  unusual,  not  to  say  disgraceful,  that  he 
himself  now  heard  of  them  for  the  first  time. 

"As  for  moccasins,  Master  Cap,"  said  he,  when  a  short 
pause  invited  him  to  speak,  "they  may  be  worn  by  pale 
faces  as  well  as  by  red-skins,  it  is  true,  though  they  never 
leave  the  same  trail  [on  the  foot  of  one  as  on  the  foot 
of  the  other.  Any  one  who  is  used  to  the  woods  can  tell 
the  footstep  of  an  Indian  from  the  footstep  of  a  white 
man,  whether  it  be  made  by  a  boot  or  a  moccasin.  It 
will  need  better  evidence  than  this  to  persuade  me  into 
the  belief  that  Jasper  is  false." 

"You  will  allow,  Pathfinder,  that  there  are  such  things 
in  the  world  as  traitors?"  put  in  Cap  logically. 

"I  never  knew  an  honest-minded  Mingo — one  that  you 
could  put  faith  in,  if  he  had  a  temptation  to  deceive  you. 
Cheating  seems  to  be  their  gift,  and  I  sometimes  think 
they  ought  to  be  pitied  for  it,  rather  than  persecuted.' 

"Then  why  not  believe  that  this  Jasper  may  have  the 
same  weakness?  A  man  is  a  man,  and  human  nature 


208  THE  PATHFINDER 

is  sometimes  but  a  poor  concern,  as  I  know  by  experi 
ence.  ' ' 

This  was  the  opening  of  another  long  and  desultory 
conversation,  in  which  the  probability  of  Jasper's  guilt 
or  innocence  was  argued  pro  and  con,  until  both  the 
sergeant  and  his  brother-in-law  had  nearly  reasoned  them 
selves  into  settled  convictions  in  favor  of  the  first,  while 
their  companion  grew  sturdier  and  sturdier  in  his  defense 
of  the  accused,  and  still  more  fixed  in  his  opinion  of  his 
being  unjustly  charged  with  treachery.  In  this  there  was 
nothing  out  of  the  common  course  of  things;  for  there  is 
no  more  certain  wray  of  arriving  at  any  particular  notion, 
than  by  undertaking  to  defend  it;  and  among  the  most 
obstinate  of  our  opinions  may  be  classed  those  which  are 
derived  from  discussions  in  which  we  affect  to  search  for 
truth,  while  in  reality  we  are  only  fortifying  prejudice. 

By  this  time  the  sergeant  had  reached  a  state  of  mind 
that  disposed  him  to  view  every  act  of  the  young  sailor 
with  distrust,  and  he  soon  got  to  coincide  with  his  rela 
tive  in  deeming  the  peculiar  knowledge  of  Jasper,  in 
reference  to  the  spies,  a  branch  of  information  that  cer 
tainly  did  not  come  within  the  circle  of  his  regular 
duties,  as  "a  circumstance." 

While  this  matter  was  thus  discussed  near  the  taffrail, 
Mabel  sat  silently  by  the  companion-way,  Mr.  Muir  hav 
ing  gone  below  to  look  after  his  personal  comforts,  and 
Jasper  standing  a  little  aloof,  with  his  arms  crossed,  and 
his  eyes  wandering  from  the  sails  to  the  clouds,  from  the 
clouds  to  the  dusky  outline  of  the  shore,  from  the  shore 
to  the  lake,  and  from  the  lake  back  again  to  the  sails. 
Our  heroine,  too,  began  to  commune  with  her  own 
thoughts.  The  excitement  of  the  late  journey,  the  inci 
dents  which  marked  the  day  of  her  arrival  at  the  fort, 
the  meeting  with  a  father  who  was  virtually  a  stranger 
to  her,  the  novelty  of  her  late  situation  in  the  garrison, 
and  her  present  voyage,  formed  a  vista  for  the  mind's  eye 
to  look  back  through,  which  seemed  lengthened  into 
months.  She  could  with  difficulty  believe  that  she  had 
so  recently  left  the  town,  with  all  the  usages  of  civilized 
life;  and  she  wondered  in  particular  that  the  incidents 
which  had  occurred  during  the  descent  of  the  Oswego  had 


THE  PATHFINDER  209 

mads  so  little  impression  on  her  mind.  Too  inexperienced 
to  know  that  events,  when  crowded,  have  the  effect  of 
time,  or  that  the  quick  succession  of  novelties  that  pass 
before  us  in  traveling  elevates  objects,  in  a  measure,  to 
the  dignity  of  events,  she  drew  upon  her  memory  for  days 
and  dates,  in  order  to  make  certain  that  she  had  known 
Jasper,  and  the  Pathfinder,  and  her  own  father,  but  little 
more  than  a  fortnight.  Mabel  was  a  girl  of  heart  rather 
than  of  imagination,  though  by  no  means  deficient  in  the 
last,  and  she  could  not  easily  account  for  the  strength  of 
her  feelings  in  connection  with  those  who  were  so  lately 
strangers  to  her;  for  she  was  not  sufficiently  accus 
tomed  to  analyze  her  sensations  to  understand  the  nature 
of  the  influences  that  have  just  been  mentioned.  As  yet, 
however,  her  pure  mind  was  free  from  the  blight  of  dis 
trust,  and  she  had  no  suspicion  of  the  views  of  either  of 
her  suitors;  and  one  of  the  last  thoughts  that  could  have 
voluntarily  disturbed  her  confidence  would  have  been  to 
suppose  it  possible  either  of  her  companions  was  a  traitor 
to  his  king  and  country. 

America,  at  the  time  of  which  we  are  writing,  was  re 
markable  for  its  attachment  to  the  German  family  that 
then  sat  on  the  British  throne;  for,  as  is  the  fact  with  all 
provinces,  the  virtues  and  qualities  that  are  proclaimed 
near  the  center  of  power,  as  incense  and  policy,  get  to  be 
a  part  of  political  faith  with  the  credulous  and  ignorant 
at  a  distance.  This  truth  is  just  as  apparent  to-day,  in 
connection  with  the  prodigies  of  the  republic,  as  it  then 
was  in  connection  with  those  distant  rulers,  whose  merits 
it  was  always  safe  to  applaud,  and  whose  demerits  it  was 
treason  to  reveal.  It  is  a  consequence  of  this  mental  de 
pendence,  that  public  opinion  is  so  much  placed  at  the 
mercy  of  the  designing;  and  the  world,  in  the  midst  of 
its  idle  boasts  of  knowledge  and  improvement,  is  left  to 
receive  its  truths,  on  all  such  points  as  touch  the  interests 
of  the  powerful  and  managing,  through  such  a  medium, 
and  such  a  medium  only,  as  may  serve  the  particular 
views  of  those  who  pull  the  wires.  Pressed  upon  by  the 
subjects  of  France,  who  were  then  encircling  the  British 
colonies  with  a  belt  of  forts  and  settlements  that  com 
pletely  secured  the  savages  for  allies,  it  would  have  been 
U 


210  THE  PATHFINDER 

difficult  to  say  whether  the  Americans  loved  the  English 
more  than  they  hated  the  French;  and  those  who  then 
lived  probably  would  have  considered  the  alliance  which 
took  place  between  the  cis- Atlantic  subjects  and  the  ancient 
rivals  of  the  British  crown,  some  twenty  years  later,  as 
an  event  entirely  without  the  circle  of  probabilities. 
Disaffection  was  a  rare  offense;  and,  most  of  all,  would 
treason,  that  should  favor  France  or  Frenchmen,  have 
been  odious  in  the  eyes  of  the  provincials.  The  last  thing 
that  Mabel  would  suspect  of  Jasper  was  the  very  crime 
with  which  he  now  stood  secretly  charged ;  and  if  others 
near  her  endured  the  pains  of  distrust,  she,  at  least,  was 
filled  with  the  generous  confidence  of  a  woman.  As  yet 
no  whisper  had  reached  her  ear  to  disturb  the  feeling  of 
reliance  with  which  she  had  early  regarded  the  young 
sailor,  and  her  own  mind  would  have  been  the  last  to 
suggest  such  a  thought  of  itself.  The  pictures  of  the  past 
and  of  the  present,  therefore,  that  exhibited  themselves 
so  rapidly  to  her  active  imagination,  were  unclouded  with 
a  shade  that  might  affect  any  in  whom  she  felt  an  interest; 
and  ere  she  had  mused,  in  the  manner  related,  a  quarter 
of  an  hour,  the  whole  scene  around  her  was  filled  with 
unalloyed  satisfaction. 

The  season  and  the  night,  to  represent  them  truly,  were 
of  a  nature  to  stimulate  the  sensations  which  youth, 
health,  and  happiness  are  wont  to  associate  with  novelty. 
The  weather  was  warm,  as  is  not  always  the  case  in  that 
region  even  in  summer,  while  the  air  that  came  off  the 
land,  in  breathing  currents,  brought  with  it  the  coolness 
and  fragrance  of  the  forest.  The  wind  was  far  from  be 
ing  fresh,  though  there  was  enough  of  it  to  drive  the  Scud 
merrily  ahead,  and,  perhaps,  to  keep  attention  alive,  in 
the  uncertainty  that  more  or  less  accompanies  darkness. 
Jasper,  however,  appeared  to  regard  it  with  complacency, 
as  was  apparent  by  what  he  said  in  a  short  dialogue  that 
now  occurred  between  him  and  Mabel. 

"At  this  rate,  Eau-douce" — for  so  Mabel  had  already 
learned  to  style  the  young  sailor — said  our  heroine,  "we 
cannot  be  long  in  reaching  our  place  of  destination." 

"Has  your  father  then  told  you  what  that  is,  Mabel?" 

"He  has  told  me  nothing;  my  father  is  too  much  of  a 


THE  PATHFINDER  211 

soldier,  and  too  little  used  to  have  a  family  around  him 
to  talk  of  such  matters.     Is  it  forbidden  to  say  whither 
we  are  bound  ? ' ' 

"It  cannot  be  far,  while  we  steer  in  this  direction,  for 
sixty  or  seventy  miles  will  take  us  into  the  St.  Lawrence, 
which  the  French  might  make  too  hot  for  us;  and  no 
voyage  on  this  lake  can  be  very  long." 

"So  says  my  Uncle  Cap;  but  to  me,  Jasper,  Ontario 
and  the  ocean  appear  very  much  the  same." 

"You  have  then  been  on  the  ocean;  while  I,  who  pre 
tend  to  be  a  sailor,  have  never  yet  seen  salt  water.  You 
must  have  a  great  contempt  for  such  a  mariner  as  my 
self,  in  your  heart,  Mabel  Dunham?" 

"Then  I  have  no  such  thing  in  my  heart,  Jasper  Eau- 
douce.  What  right  have  I,  a  girl  without  experience  or 
knowledge,  to  despise  any,  much  less  one  like  you,  who 
are  trusted  by  the  major,  and  who  command  a  vessel  like 
this?  I  have  never  been  on  the  ocean,  though  I  have 
seen  it;  and,  I  repeat,  I  see  no  difference  between  this 
lake  and  the  Atlantic." 

"Nor  in  them  that  sail  on  both?  I  was  afraid.  Mabel, 
your  uncle  had  said  so  much  against  us  fresh-water 
sailors,  that  you  had  begun  to  look  upon  us  as  little 
better  than  pretenders?" 

"Give  yourself  no  uneasiness  on  that  account,  Jasper; 
for  I  know  my  uncle,  and  he  says  as  many  things  against 
those  who  live  ashore,  when  at  York,  as  he  now  says 
against  those  who  sail  on  fresh  water.  No,  no,  neither 
my  father  nor  myself  think  anything  of  such  opinions.  My 
uncle  Cap,  if  he  spoke  openly,  would  be  found  to  have 
even  a  worse  notion  of  a  soldier  than  of  a  sailor  who 
never  saw  the  sea. ' ' 

"But  your  father,  Mabel,  has  a  better  opinion  of 
soldiers  than  of  any  one  else?  he  wishes  you  to  be  the 
wife  of  a  soldier?" 

"Jasper  Eau-douce!  I  the  wife  of  a  soldier!  My  father 
wishes  it!  Why  should  he  wish  any  such  thing?  What 
soldier  is  there  in  the  garrison  that  I  could  marry — that 
he  could  wish  me  to  marry?" 

"One  may  love  a  calling  so  well  as  to  fancy  itwill  cover 
a  thousand  imnerfections." 


212  THE  PATHFINDER 

"But  one  is  not  likely  to  love  his  own  calling  so  well  as 
to  cause  him  to  overlook  everything  else.  You  say  my 
father  wishes  me  to  marry  a  soldier;  and  yet  there  is  no 
soldier  at  Oswego  that  he  would  be  likely  to  give  me  to. 
I  am  in  an  awkward  position;  for  while  I  am  not  good 
enough  to  be  the  wife  of  one  of  the  gentlemen  of  the  gar 
rison,  I  think  even  you  will  admit,  Jasper,  I  am  too  good 
to  be  the  wife  of  one  of  the  common  soldiers." 

As  Mabel  spoke  thus  frankly  she  blushed,  she  knew  not 
why,  though  the  obscurity  concealed  the  fact  from  her 
companion;  and  she  laughed  faintly,  like  one  who  felt 
that  the  subject,  however  embarrassing  it  might  be,  de 
served  to  be  treated  fairly.  Jasper,  it  would  seem,  viewed 
her  position  differently  from  herself. 

"It  is  true,  Mabel,"  said  he,  "you  are  not  what  is 
called  a  lady,  in  the  common  meaning  of  the  word." 

"Not  in  any  meaning,  Jasper,"  the  generous  girl 
eagerly  interrupted;  "on  that  head,  I  have  no  vanities,  I 
hope.  Providence  has  made  me  the  daughter  of  a  ser 
geant,  and  I  am  content  to  remain  in  the  station  in  which 
I  was  born. ' ' 

"But  all  do  not  remain  in  the  stations  in  which  they 
were  born,  Mabel;  for  some  rise  above  them,  and  some 
fall  below  them.  Many  sergeants  have  become  officers — 
even  generals;  and  why  may  not  sergeants'  daughters 
become  officers'  ladies?" 

"In  the  case  of  Sergeant  Dunham's  daughter,  I  know 
no  better  reason  than  the  fact  that  no  officer  is  likely  to 
wish  to  make  her  his  wife, "  returned  Mabel,  laughing. 

"You  may  think  so;  but  there  are  some  in  the  55th 
that  know  better.  There  is  certainly  one  officer  in  that 
regiment,  Mabel,  who  does  wish  to  make  you  his  wife." 

Quick  as  the  flashing  lightning,  the  rapid  thoughts  of 
Mabel  Dunham  glanced  over  the  five  or  six  subalterns  of 
the  corps,  who,  by  age  and  inclinations,  would  be  the 
most  likely  to  form  such  a  wish;  and  we  should  do  injus 
tice  to  her  habits,  perhaps,  were  we  not  to  say  that  a 
lively  sensation  of  pleasure  rose  momentarily  in  her 
bosom,  at  the  thought  of  being  raised  above  a  station 
which,  whatever  might  be  her  professions  of  contentment, 
she  felt  that  she  had  been  too  well  educated  to  fill  with 


THE  PATHFINDER  213 

perfect  satisfaction.  But  this  emotion  was  as  transient 
as  it  was  sudden;  for  Mabel  Dunham  was  a  girl  of  too 
much  pure  and  womanly  feeling  to  view  the  marriage  tie 
through  anything  so  worldly  as  the  mere  advantages  of 
station.  The  passing  emotion  was  a  thrill  produced  by 
factitious  habits,  while  the  more  settled  opinion  which 
remained  was  the  offspring  of  nature  and  principles. 

"I  know  no  officer  in  the  55th,  or  any  other  regiment, 
who  would  be  likely  to  do  so  foolish  a  thing;  nor  do  I 
think  I  myself  would  do  so  foolish  a  thing  as  to  marry  an 
officer." 

" Foolish,  Mabel!" 

"Yes,  foolish,  Jasper.  You  know,  as  well  as  I  can 
know,  what  the  world  would  think  of  such  matters;  and  I 
should  be  sorry,  very  sorry,  to  find  that  my  husband  ever 
regretted  that  he  had  so  far  yielded  to  a  fancy  for  a  face 
or  a  figure  as  to  have  married  the  daughter  of  one  so 
much  his  inferior  as  a  sergeant." 

"  Your  husband,  Mabel,  will  not  be  so  likely  to  think 
of  the  father  as  to  think  of  the  daughter." 

The  girl  was  talking  with  spirit,  though  feeling  evi 
dently  entered  into  her  part  of  the  discourse;  but  she 
paused  for  nearly  a  minute  after  Jasper  had  made  the  last 
observation  before  she  uttered  another  word.  Then  she 
continued,  in  a  manner  less  playful,  and  one  critically 
attentive  might  have  fancied  in  a  manner  slightly  melan 
choly  : 

"Parent  and  child  ought  so  to  live  as  not  to  have  two 
hearts,  or  two  modes  of  feeling  and  thinking.  A  com 
mon  interest  in  all  things  I  should  think  as  necessary  to 
happiness  in  man  and  wife,  as  between  the  other  members 
of  the  same  family.  Most  of  all,  ought  neither  the  man 
nor  the  woman  to  have  any  unusual  cause  for  unhappi- 
ness,  the  world  furnishing  so  many  of  itself." 

"Am  I  to  understand,  then,  Mabel,  you  would  refuse 
to  marry  an  officer,  merely  because  he  was  an  officer?" 

"Have  you  a  right  to  ask  such  a  quest  ion,  Jasper?  "said 
Mabel,  smiling. 

"No  other  right  than  what  a  strong  desire  to  see  you 
happy  can  give,  which,  after  all,  may  be  very  little.  My 
anxiety  has  been  increased,  from  happening  to  know  that 


214  THE  PATHFINDER 

it  is  your  father's  intention  to  persuade  you  to  marry 
Lieutenant  Muir." 

"My  dear,  dear  father  can  entertain  no  notion  so  ridicu 
lous — no  notion  so  cruel!" 

"Would  it,  then,  be  cruel  to  wish  you  the  wife  of  a 
quartermaster?" 

"I  have  told  you  what  I  think  on  that  subject,  and  can 
not  make  my  words  stronger.  Having  answered  you  so 
frankly,  Jasper,  I  have  a  right  to  ask  how  you  know  that 
my  father  thinks  of  any  such  thing?" 

"That  he  has  chosen  a  husband  for  you,  I  know  from 
his  own  mouth;  for  he  has  told  me  this  much  during  our 
frequent  conversations  while  he  has  been  superintending 
the  shipment  of  the  stores;  and  that  Mr.  Muir  is  to  offer 
for  you,  I  know  from  the  officer  himself,  who  has  told 
me  as  much.  By  putting  the  two  things  together,  I  have 
come  to  the  opinion  mentioned." 

"May  not  my  dear  father,  Jasper" — Mabel's  face  glowed 
like  fire  while  she  spoke,  though  her  words  escaped  her 
slowly,  and  by  a  sort  of  involuntary  impulse — "may  not 
my  dear  father  have  been  thinking  of  another?  It  does 
not  follow,  from  what  you  say,  that  Mr.  Muir  was  in  his 
mind." 

"Is  it  not  probable,  Mabel,  from  all  that  has  passed? 
What  brings  the  quartermaster  here?  He  has  never 
found  it  necessary  before  to  accompany  the  parties  that 
have  gone  below.  He  thinks  of  you  for  his  wife;  and 
your  father  has  made  up  his  own  mind  that  you  shall  be 
so.  You  must  see,  Mabel,  that  Mr.  Muir  follows  you?1' 

Mabel  made  no  answer.  Her  feminine  instinct  had, 
indeed,  told  her  that  she  was  an  object  of  admiration 
with  the  quartermaster;  though  she  had  hardly  supposed 
to  the  extent  that  Jasper  believed;  and  she,  too,  had  even 
gathered  from  the  discourse  of  her  father  that  he  thought 
seriously  of  having  her  disposed  of  in  marriage;  but  by 
no  process  of  reasoning  could  she  ever  have  arrived  at  the 
inference  that  Mr.  Muir  was  to  be  the  man.  She  did  not 
believe  it  now,  though  she  was  far  from  suspecting  the 
truth.  Indeed,  it  was  her  own  opinion  that  these  casual 
remarks  of  her  father,  which  had  struck  her,  had  pro 
ceeded  from  a  general  wish  to  have  her  settled,  rather 


THE  PATHFINDER  215 

than  from  any  desire  to  see  her  united  to  any  particular 
individual.  These  thoughts,  however,  she  kept  secret; 
for  self-respect  and  feminine  reserve  showed  her  the 
impropriety  of  making  them  the  subject  of  discussion  with 
her  present  companion.  By  way  of  changing  the  conver 
sation,  therefore,  after  the  pause  had  lasted  long  enough 
to  be  embarrassing  to  both  parties,  she  said,  "Of  one 
thing  you  may  be  certain,  Jasper— and  that  is  all  I  wish 
to  say  on  the  subject— Lieutenant  Muir,  though  he  were 
a  colonel,  will  never  be  the  husband  of  Mabel  Dunham. 
And  now,  tall  me  of  your  voyage;  when  will  it  end?" 

"That  is  uncertain.  Once  afloat,  we  are  at  the  mercy 
of  the  winds  and  waves.  Pathfinder  will  tell  you  that  he 
who  begins  to  chase  the  deer  in  the  morning  cannot  tell 
where  he  will  sleep  at  night." 

"But  we  are  not  chasing  a  deer,  nor  is  it  morning;  so 
Pathfinder's  moral  is  thrown  away." 

"Although  we  are  not  chasing  a  deer,  we  are  after  that 
which  may  be  as  hard  to  catch.  I  can  tell  you  no  more 
than  I  have  said  already;  for  it  is  our  duty  to  be  close- 
mouthed,  whether  anything  depends  on  it  or  not.  I  am 
afraid,  however,  I  shall  not  keep  you  long  enough  in  the 
Scud  to  show  you  what  she  can  do  at  need." 

"I  think  a  woman  unwise  who  ever  marries  a  sailor," 
said  Mabel  abruptly,  and  almost  involuntarily. 

"This  is  a  strange  opinion;  why  do  you  hold  it?" 

"Because  a  sailor's  wife  is  certain  to  have  a  rival  in 
his  vessel.  My  uncle  Cap,  too,  says  that  a  sailor  should 
never  marry." 

"He  means  salt-water  sailors,"  returned  Jasper,  laugh 
ing.  "If  he  thinks  wives  not  good  enough  for  those  who 
sail  on  the  ocean,  he  will  fancy  them  just  suited  to  those 
who  sail  on  the  lakes.  I  hope,  Mabel,  you  do  not  take 
your  opinions  of  us  fresh-water  mariners  from  all  that 
Master  Cap  says. ' ' 

"Sail,  ho!"  exclaimed  the  very  individual  of  whom 
they  were  conversing;  "or  boat,  ho!  would  be  nearer  the 
truth." 

Jasper  ran  forward;  and,  sure  enough,  a  small  object 
was  discernible  about  a  hundred  yards  ahead  of  the  cutter, 
and  nearly  on  her  lee  bow.  At  the  first  glance,  he  saw  it 


216  THE  PATHFINDER 

was  a  bark  canoe;  for,  though  the  darkness  prevented 
hues  from  being  distinguished,  the  eye  that  had  become 
accustomed  to  the  night  might  discern  forms  at  some 
little  distance;  and  the  eye  which,  like  Jasper's,  had  long 
been  familiar  with  things  aquatic,  could  not  be  at  a  loss 
in  discovering  the  outlines  necessary  to  come  to  the  con 
clusion  he  did. 

"This  may  be  an  enemy,"  the  young  man  remarked; 
"and  it  may  be  well  to  overhaul  him." 

"He  is  paddling  with  his  might,  lad,"  observed  the 
Pathfinder,  "and  means  to  cross  your  bows  and  get  to 
windward,  when  you  might  as  well  chase  a  full-grown 
buck  on  snow-shoes!" 

"Let  her  luff, "  cried  Jasper  to  the  man  at  the  helm. 
"Luff  up,  till  she  shakes.  There,  steady,  and  hold  all 
that." 

The  helmsman  complied;  and,  as  the  Scud  was  now 
dashing  the  water  aside  merrily,  a  minute  or  two  put  the 
canoe  so  far  to  leeward  as  to  render  escape  impracticable. 
Jasper  now  sprang  to  the  helm  himself;  and,  by  judicious 
and  careful  handling,  he  got  so  near  his  chase  that  it  was 
secured  by  a  boat-hook.  On  receiving  an  order,  the  two 
persons  who  were  in  the  canoe  left  it,  and  no  sooner  had 
they  reached  the  deck  of  the  cutter  than  they  were  found 
to  be  Arrowhead  and  his  wife. 


CHAPTER  XV 

What  pearl  is  it  that  rich  men  cannot  buy, 
That  learning  is  too  proud  to  gather  up; 
But  which  the  poor  and  the  despised  of  all 
Seek  and  obtain,  and  often  find  unsought  ? 
Tell  me— and  I  will  tell  thee  what  is  truth." 

—  COWPER. 

THE  meeting  with  the  Indian  and  his  wife  excited  no 
surprise  in  the  majority  of  those  who  witnessed  the  occur 
rence;  but  Mabel,  and  all  who  knew  of  the  manner  in  which 
this  chief  had  been  separated  from  the  party  of  Cap,  sim 
ultaneously  entertained  suspicions,  which  it  was  far  easier 
to  feel  than  to  follow  out  by  any  plausible  clue  to  cer 
tainty.  Pathfinder,  who  alone  could  converse  freely  with 
the  prisoners,  for  such  they  might  now  be  considered,  took 
Arrowhead  aside,  and  held  a  long  conversation  with  him, 
concerning  the  reasons  of  the  latter  for  having  deserted 
his  charge  and  the  manner  in  which  he  had  been  since 
employed. 

The  Tuscarora  met  these  inquiries,  and  he  gave  his 
answers  with  the  stoicism  of  an  Indian.  As  respects  the 
separation,  his  excuses  were  very  simply  made,  and  they 
seemed  to  be  sufficiently  plausible.  When  he  found  that 
the  party  was  discovered  in  its  place  of  concealment,  he 
naturally  sought  his  own  safety,  which  he  secured  by 
plunging  into  the  woods.  In  a  word,  he  had  run  away  in 
order  to  save  his  life. 

"This  is  well,"  returned  Pathfinder,  affecting  to  believe 
the  other's  apologies;  "my  brother  did  very  wisely;  but 
his  woman  followed?" 

"Do  not  the  pale  faces'  women  follow  their  husbands? 
Would  not  Pathfinder  have  looked  back  to  see  if  one  he 
loved  was  coming?" 

This  appeal  was  made  to  the  guide  while  he  was  in  a 
most  fortunate  frame  of  mind  to  admit  its  force;  for 
Mabel  and  her  blandishments  and  constancy  were  becom 
ing  images  familiar  to  his  thoughts.  The  Tuscarora, 

217 


218  THE  PATHFINDER 

though  he  could  not  trace  the  reason,  saw  that  his  excuse 
was  admitted,  and  he  stood  with  quiet  dignity  awaiting 
the  next  inquiry. 

"This  is  reasonable  and  natural,"  returned  Pathfinder; 
"this  is  natural,  and  may  be  so.  A  woman  would  be 
likely  to  follow  the  man  to  whom  she  had  plighted  faith, 
and  husband  and  wife  are  one  flesh.  Your  words  are 
honest,  Tuscarora, "  changing  the  language  to  the  dialect 
of  the  other.  "Your  words  are  honest,  and  very  pleasant 
and  just.  But  why  has  my  brother  been  so  long  from  the 
fort?  His  friends  have  thought  of  him  often,  but  have 
never  seen  him. ' ' 

"If  the  doe  follows  the  buck,  ought  not  the  buck  to 
follow  the  doe?"  answered  the  Tuscarora,  smiling,  as  he 
laid  a  finger  significantly  on  the  shoulder  of  his  interrog 
ator.  "Arrowhead's  wife  followed  Arrowhead;  it  was 
right  in  Arrowhead  to  follow  his  wife.  She  lost  her  way, 
and  they  made  her  cook  in  a  strange  wigwam." 

"I  understand  you,  Tuscarora.  The  woman  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  Mingoes,  and  you  kept  upon  their  trail." 

"Pathfinder  can  see  a  reason  as  easily  as  he  can  see  the 
moss  on  the  trees.  It  is  so. ' ' 

"And  how  long  have  you  got  the  woman  back,  and  in 
what  manner  has  it  been  done?" 

"Two  suns.  The  Dew-of-June  was  not  long  in  coming 
when  her  husband  whispered  to  her  the  path. ' ' 

"Well,  well,  all  this  seems  natural,  and  according  to 
matrimony.  But,  Tuscarora,  how  did  you  get  that  canoe, 
and  why  are  you  paddling  towards  the  St.  Lawrence  in 
stead  of  the  garrison?" 

'  'Arrowhead  can  tell  his  own  from  that  of  another.  This 
canoe  is  mine;  I  found  it  on  the  shore  near  the  fort." 

"That  sounds  reasonable,  too,  for  the  canoe  does  belong 
to  the  man,  and  an  Indian  would  make  few  words  about 
taking  it.  Still,  it  is  extraordinary  that  we  saw  nothing 
of  the  fellow  and  his  wife,  for  the  canoe  must  have  left 
the  river  before  we  did  ourselves." 

This  idea,  which  passed  rapidly  through  the  mind  of 
the  guide,  was  now  put  to  the  Indian  in  the  shape  of  a 
question. 

"Pathfinder  knows  that  a  warrior  can  have  shame.     The 


THE  PATHFINDER  219 

father  would  have  asked  me  for  his  daughter,  and  I  could 
not  give  her  to  him.  I  sent  the  Dew-of-June  for  the 
canoe,  and  no  one  spoke  to  the  woman.  A  Tuscarora 
woman  would  not  be  free  in  speaking  to  strange  men." 

All  this,  too,  was  plausible,  and  in  conformity  with 
Indian  character  and  customs.  As  was  usual,  Arrowhead 
had  received  one-half  of  his  compensation  previously  to 
quitting  the  Mohawk;  and  his  refraining  to  demand  the 
residue  was  a  proof  of  that  conscientious  consideration  of 
mutual  rights  that  quite  as  often  distinguishes  the  mor 
ality  of  a  savage  as  that  of  a  Christian.  To  one  as  upright 
as  Pathfinder,  Arrowhead  had  conducted  himself  with 
delicacy  and  propriety,  though  it  would  have  been  more 
in  accordance  with  his  own  frank  nature  to  have  met  the 
father,  and  abided  by  the  simple  truth.  Still,  accustomed 
to  the  ways  of  Indians,  he  saw  nothing  out  of  the  ordinary 
track  of  things  in  the  course  the  other  had  taken. 

"This  runs  like  water  flowing  down  hill,  Arrowhead," 
he  answered,  after  a  little  reflection,  "and  truth  obliges 
me  to  own  it.  It  was  the  gift  of  a  red-skin  to  act  in  this 
way,  though  I  do  not  think  it  was  the  gift  of  a  pale  face. 
You  would  not  look  upon  the  grief  of  the  girl's  father?" 

Arrowhead  made  a  quiet  inclination  of  the  body  as  if 
to  assent. 

"One  thing  more  my  brother  will  tell  me,"  continued 
Pathfinder,  "and  there  will  be  no  cloud  between  his  wig 
wam  and  the  strong-house  of  the  Yengeese.  If  he  can 
blow  away  this  bit  of  fog  with  his  breath,  his  friends  will 
look  at  him  as  he  sits  by  his  own  fire,  and  he  can  look  at 
them  as  they  lay  aside  their  arms,  and  forget  that  they 
are  warriors.  Why  was  the  head  of  Arrowhead's  canoe 
looking  towards  the  St.  Lawrence,  where  there  are  none 
but  enemies  to  be  found?" 

"Why  were  the  Pathfinder  and  his  friends  looking  the 
same  way?"  asked  the  Tuscarora  calmly.  "A^Tuscarora 
may  look  in  the  same  direction  as  a  Yengeese." 

"Why,  to  own  the  truth,  Arrowhead,  we  are  out  scout 
ing  like;  that  is,  sailing— in  other  words,  we  are  on  the 
king's  business,  and  we  have  a  right  to  be  here.^  though 
we  may  not  have  a  right  to  say  why  we  are  here. ' ' 

"Arrowhead  saw  the  big  canoe,  and  he  loves  to  look  on 


220  THE  PATHFINDER 

the  face  of  Eau-douce.  He  was  going  towards  the  sun  at 
evening  in  order  to  seek  his  wigwam;  but,  finding  that 
the  young  sailor  was  going  the  other  way,  he  turned  that 
he  might  look  in  the  same  direction.  Eau-douce  and 
Arrowhead  were  together  on  the  last  trail." 

"This  may  all  be  true,  Tuscarora,  and  you  are  welcome. 
You  shall  eat  of  our  venison,  and  then  we  must  separate. 
The  setting  sun  is  behind  us,  and  both  of  us  move  quick; 
my  brother  will  get  too  far  from  that  which  he  seeks, 
unless  he  turns  round." 

Pathfinder  now  returned  to  the  others,  and  repeated  the 
result  of  his  examination.  He  appeared  himself  to  believe 
that  the  account  of  Arrowhead  might  be  true,  though 
he  admitted  that  caution  would  be  prudent  with  one  he 
disliked;  but  his  auditors,  Jasper  excepted,  seemed  less 
disposed  to  put  faith  in  the  explanations. 

"This  chap  must  be  ironed  at  once,  brother  Dunham," 
said  Cap,  as  soon  as  Pathfinder  finished  his  narration; 
"he  must  be  turned  over  to  the  master-at-arms,  if  there 
is  any  such  officer  on  fresh  water,  and  a  court-martial 
ought  to  be  ordered  as  soon  as  we  reach  port. ' ' 

"I  think  it  wisest  to  detain  the  fellow,"  the  sergeant 
answered;  "but  irons  are  unnecessary  so  long  as  he  re 
mains  in  the  cutter.  In  the  morning  the  matter  shall  be 
inquired  into." 

Arrowhead  was  now  summoned  and  told  the  decision. 
The  Indian  listened  gravely,  and  made  no  objections.  On 
the  contrary,  he  submitted  with  the  calm  and  reserved 
dignity  with  which  the  American  aborigines  are  known  to 
yield  to  fate;  and  he  stood  apart,  an  attentive  but  calm 
observer  of  what  was  passing.  Jasper  caused  the  cutter's 
sails  to  be  filled,  and  the  Scud  resumed  her  course. 

It  was  now  getting  near  the  hour  to  set  the  watch,  and 
when  it  was  usual  to  retire  for  the  night.  Most  of  the 
party  went  below,  leaving  no  one  on  deck  but  Cap,  the 
sergeant,  Jasper,  and  two  of  the  crew.  Arrowhead  and 
his  wife  also  remained,  the  former  standing  aloof  in 
proud  reserve,  and  the  latter  exhibiting,  by  her  attitude 
and  passiveness,  the  meek  humility  that  characterizes  an 
Indian  woman. 

"You  will  find  a  place  for  your  wife  below,  Arrowhead, 


THE  PATHFINDER  221 

where  my  daughter  will  attend  to  her  wants,"  said  the 
sergeant  kindly,  who  was  himself  on  the  point  of  quitting 
the  deck;  "yonder  is  a  sail  where  you  may  sleep  your 
self." 

"I  thank  my  father.  The  Tuscaroras  are  not  poor.  The 
woman  will  look  for  my  blankets  in  the  canoe." 

"As  you  wish,  my  friend.  We  think  it  necessary  to 
detain  you ;  but  not  necessary  to  confine  or  to  maltreat 
you.  Send  your  squaw  into  the  canoe  for  the  blankets 
and  you  may  follow  her  yourself,  and  hand  us  up  the  pad 
dles.  As  there  may  be  some  sleepy  heads  in  the  Scud, 
Eau-douce, "  added  the  sergeant  in  a  lower  tone,  "it may 
be  well  to  secure  the  paddles." 

Jasper  assented,  and  Arrowhead  and  his  wife,  with 
whom  resistance  appeared  to  be  out  of  the  question,  si 
lently  complied  with  the  directions.  A  few  expressions  of 
sharp  rebuke  passed  from  the  Indian  to  his  wife,  while 
both  were  employed  in  the  canoe,  which  the  latter  received 
with  submissive  quiet,  immediately  repairing  an  error 
she  had  made  by  laying  aside  the  blankets  she  had  taken 
and  searching  for  another  that  was  more  to  her  tyrant's 
mind. 

"Come,  bear  a  hand,  Arrowhead,"  said  the  sergeant, 
who  stood  on  the  gunwale  overlooking  the  movements  of 
the  two,  which  were  proceeding  too  slowly  for  the  impa 
tience  of  a  drowsy  man;  "it  is  getting  late;  and  we  sol 
diers  have  such  a  thing  as  reveille — early  to  bed  and  early 
to  rise." 

"Arrowhead  is  coming,"  was  the  answer,  as  the  Tus- 
carora  stepped  towards  the  head  of  his  canoe. 

One  blow  of  his  keen  knife  severed  the  rope  which  held 
the  boat,  and  then  the  cutter  glanced  ahead,  leaving  the 
light  bubble  of  bark,  which  instantly  lost  its  way,  almost 
stationary.  So  suddenly  and  dexterously  was  this  maneu 
ver  performed,  that  the  canoe  was  on  the  lee  quarter  of 
the  Scud  before  the  sergeant  was  aware  of  the  artifice, 
and  quite  in  her  wake  ere  he  had  time  to  announce  it  to 
his  companions. 

"Hard-a  lee!"  shouted  Jasper,  letting  fly  the  jib-sheel 
with  his  own  hands,  when  the  cutter  came  swiftly  up  to 
the  breeze,  with  all  her  canvas  flapping,  or  was  running 


222  THE  PATHFINDER 

into  the  wind's  eye,  as  seamen  term  it,  until  the  light 
craft  was  a  hundred  feet  to  windward  of  her  former  po 
sition.  Quick  and  dexterous  as  was  this  movement,  and 
ready  as  had  been  the  expedient,  it  was  not  quicker  or 
more  ready  than  that  of  the  Tuscarora.  With  an  intelli 
gence  that  denoted  some  familiarity  with  vessels,  he  had 
seized  his  paddle  and  was  already  skimming  the  water, 
aided  by  the  efforts  of  his  wife.  The  direction  he  took 
was  southwesterly,  or  on  a  line  that  led  him  equally  to 
wards  the  wind  and  the  shore,  while  it  also  kept  him  so 
far  aloof  from  the  cutter  as  to  avoid  the  danger  of  the 
latter  falling  on  board  of  him  when  she  filled  on  the  other 
tack.  Swiftly  as  the  Scud  had  shot  into  the  wind,  and 
far  as  she  had  forced  ahead,  Jasper  knew  it  was  necessary 
to  cast  her  ere  she  had  lost  all  her  way;  and  it  was  not 
two  minutes  from  the  time  the  helm  had  been  put  down 
before  the  lively  little  craft  was  aback  forward,  and  rap 
idly  falling  off,  in  order  to  allow  her  sails  to  fill  on  the 
opposite  tack. 

"He  will  escape!"  said  Jasper  the  instant  he  caught  a 
glimpse  of  the  relative  bearings  of  the  cutter  and  the 
canoe.  "The  cunning  knave  is  paddling  dead  to  wind 
ward,  and  the  Scud  can  never  overtake  him!" 

"You  have  a  canoe!"  exclaimed  the  sergeant,  manifest 
ing  the  eagerness  of  a  boy  to  join  in  the  pursuit;  "let  us 
launch  it,  and  give  chase!" 

"It  will  be  useless.  If  Pathfinder  had  been  on  deck, 
there  might  have  been  a  chance;  but  there  is  none  now. 
To  launch  the  canoe  would  have  taken  three  or  four  min 
utes,  and  the  time  lost  would  be  sufficient  for  the  purposes 
of  Arrowhead." 

Both  Cap  and  the  sergeant  saw  the  truth  of  this,  which 
would  have  been  nearly  self-evident  to  one  unaccustomed 
to  vessels.  The  shore  was  distant  less  than  half  a  mile, 
and  the  canoe  was  already  glancing  into  its  shadows,  at  a 
rate  to  show  that  it  would  reach  the  land  before  its  pur 
suers  could  probably  get  half  the  distance.  The  helm  of 
the  Scud  was  reluctantly  put  up  again,  and  the  cutter  wore 
short  round  on  her  heel,  coming  up  to  her  course  on  the 
other  tack,  as  if  acting  on  an  instinct.  All  this  was  done 
by  Jasper  in  profound  silence,  his  assistants  understand- 


}   THE  PATHFINDER  223 

ing  what  was  necessary,  and  lending  their  aid  in  a  sort  of 
mechanical  imitation.  While  these  maneuvers  were  in 
the  course  of  execution,  Cap  took  the  sergeant  by  a  but 
ton,  and  led  him  towards  the  cabin-door,  where  he  was 
out  of  ear-shot,  and  began  to  unlock  his  stores  of  thought. 

" Hark' e,  brother  Dunham,"  said  he,  with  an  ominous 
face,  "this  is  a  matter  that  requires  mature  thought  and 
much  circumspection." 

"The  life  of  a  soldier,  brother  Cap,  is  6ne  of  constant 
thought  and  circumspection.  On  this  frontier,  were  we 
to  overlook  either,  our  scalps  might  be  taken  from  our 
heads  in  the  first  nap. ' ' 

"But  I  consider  this  capture  of  Arrowhead  as  a  circum 
stance;  and  I  might  add  his  escape  as  another.  This 
Jasper  Freshwater  must  look  to  it." 

"They  are  both  circumstances  truly,  brother;  but  they 
tell  different  ways.  If  it  is  a  circumstance  against  the  lad 
that  the  Indian  has  escaped,  it  is  a  circumstance  in  his 
favor  that  he  was  first  taken. ' ' 

"Ay,  ay,  but  two  circumstances  do  not  contradict  each 
other  like  two  negatives.  If  you  will  follow  the  advice 
of  an  old  seaman,  sergeant,  not  a  moment  is  to  be  lost  in 
taking  the  steps  necessary  for  the  security  of  the  vessel 
and  all  on  board  of  her.  The  cutter  is  now  slipping 
through  the  water  at  the  rate  of  six  knots,  and  as  the 
distances  are  so  short  on  this  bit  of  a  pond,  we  may  all 
find  ourselves  in  a  French  port  before  morning,  and  in  a 
French  prison  before  night." 

"This  may  be  true  enough.  What  would  you  advise 
me  to  do,  brother?" 

"In  my  opinion  you  should  put  this  Master  Freshwater 
under  arrest  on  the  spot;  send  him  below  under  the  charge 
of  a  sentinel,  and  transfer  the  command  of  the  cutter  to 
me.  All  this  you  have  power  to  perform,  the  craft  be 
longing  to  the  army,  and  you  being  the  commanding  officer 
of  the  troops  present. ' ' 

Sergeant  Dunham  deliberated  more  than  an  hour  on  the 
propriety  of  this  proposal ;  for,  though  sufficiently  prompt 
when  his  mind  was  really  made  up,  he  was  habitually 
thoughtful  and  wary.  The  habit  of  superintending  the 
personal  police  of  the  garrison  had  made  him  acquainted 


224  THE  PATHFINDER 

with  character,  and  he  had  long  been  disposed  to  think 
well  of  Jasper.  Still  that  subtle  poison,  suspicion,  had 
entered  his  soul ;  and  so  much  were  the  artifices  and  in 
trigues  of  the  French  dreaded,  that,  especially  warned  as 
he  had  been  by  his  commander,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered 
that  the  recollection  of  years  of  good  conduct  should  vanish 
under  the  influence  of  a  distrust  so  keen,  and  seemingly 
so  plausible.  In  this  embarrassment  the  sergeant  con 
sulted  the  quartermaster,  whose  opinion,  as  his  superior, 
he  felt  bound  to  respect,  though  at  the  moment  indepen 
dent  of  his  control.  It  is  an  unfortunate  occurrence  for 
one  who  is  in  a  dilemma  to  ask  advice  of  another  who  is 
desirous  of  standing  well  in  his  favor,  the  party  consulted 
being  almost  certain  to  try  to  think  in  the  manner  which 
will  be  the  most  agreeable  to  the  party  consulting.  In  the 
present  instance  it  was  equally  unfortunate,  as  respects  a 
candid  consideration  of  the  subject,  that  Cap,  instead  of 
the  sergeant  himself,  made  the  statement  of  the  case;  for 
the  earnest  old  sailor  was  not  backward  in  letting  his  lis 
tener  perceive  to  which  side  he  was'  desirous  that  the 
quartermaster  should  lean.  Lieutenant  Muir  was  much 
too  politic  to  offend  the  uncle  and  father  of  the  woman  he 
hoped  and  expected  to  win,  had  he  really  thought  the  case 
admitted  of  doubt;  but,  in  the  manner  in  which  the  facts 
were  submitted  to  him,  he  was  seriously  inclined  to  think 
that  it  would  be  well  to  put  the  control  of  the  Scud  tem 
porarily  into  the  management  of  Cap,  as  a  precaution 
against  treachery.  This  opinion  then  decided  the  sergeant, 
who  forthwith  set  about  the  execution  of  the  necessary 
measures. 

Without  entering  into  any  explanations,  Sergeant  Dun 
ham  simply  informed  Jasper  that  he  felt  it  to  be  his  duty 
to  deprive  him  temporarily  of  the  command  of  the  cutter, 
and  to  confer  it  on  his  own  brother-in-law.  A  natural 
and  involuntary  burst  of  surprise,  which  escaped  the 
young  man,  was  met  by  a  quiet  remark,  reminding  him 
that  military  service  was  often  of  a  nature  that  required 
concealment,  and  a  declaration  that  the  present  duty  was 
of  such  a  character  that  this  particular  arrangement  had 
become  indispensable.  Although  Jasper's  astonishment 
remained  undiminished — the  sergeant  cautiously  abstain- 


THE  PATHFINDER  225 

ing  from  making  any  allusion  to  his  suspicions — the  young 
man  was  accustomed  to  obey  with  military  submission;  and 
he  quietly  acquiesced,  with  his  own  mouth  directing  the 
little  crew  to  receive  their  further  orders  from  Cap  until 
another  change  should  be  effected.  When,  however,  he  was 
told  the  case  required  that  not  only  he  himself,  but  his 
principal  assistant,  who,  on  account  of  his  long  acquaint 
ance  with  the  lake,  was  usually  termed  the  pilot,  were  to 
remain  below,  there  was  an  alteration  in  his  countenance 
and  manner  that  denoted  strong  feeling,  though  it  was  so 
well  mastered  as  to  leave  even  the  distrustful  Cap  in  doubt 
as  to  its  meaning.  As  a  matter  of  course,  however,  when 
distrust  exists,  it  was  not  long  before  the  worst  construc 
tion  was  put  upon  it. 

As  soon  as  Jasper  and  the  pilot  were  below,  the  sentinel 
at  the  hatch  received  private  orders  to  pay  particular  at 
tention  to  both;  to  allow  neither  to  come  on  deck  again 
without  giving  instant  notice  to  the  person  who  might 
then  be  in  charge  of  the  cutter,  and  to  insist  on  his  re 
turn  below  as  soon  as  possible.  This  precaution,  how 
ever,  was  uncalled  for;  Jasper  and  his  assistant  both 
throwing  themselves  silently  on  their  pallets,  which 
neither  quitted  again  that  night. 

"And  now,  sergeant,"  said  Cap,  as  soon  as  he  found 
himself  master  of  the  deck,  "you  will  just  have  the  good 
ness  to  give  me  the  courses  and  distance,  that  I  may  see 
the  boat  keeps  her  head  the  right  way." 

"I  know  nothing  of  either,  brother  Cap,"  returned 
Dunham,  not  a  little  embarrassed  at  the  question, 
must  make  the  best  of  our  way  to  the  station  among  the 
Thousand  Islands,  where  'we  shall  land,  relieve  the  party 
that  is  already  out,  and  get  information  for  our  future 
government.'  That's  it,  nearly  word  for  word,  as  it  stands 
in  the  written  orders." 

"But  you  can  muster  a  chart— something  in  the  way  o 
bearings  and  distances,  that  I  may  see  the  road?" 

"I  do  not  think  Jasper  ever  had  anything  of  the  sort  i 

goby." 

"No  chart,  Sergeant  Dunham! 

"Not  a  scrap  of  a  pen  even.     Our  sailors  navigate 
lake  without  any  aid  from  maps." 
15 


226  THE  PATHFINDER 

"The  devil  they  do!  They  must  be  regular  Yahoos. 
And  do  you  suppose,  Sergeant  Dunham,  that  I  can  find 
one  island  out  of  a  thousand  without  knowing  its  name  or 
its  position,  without  even  a  course  or  a  distance?" 

"As  for  the  name,  brother  Cap,  you  need  not  be  par 
ticular,  for  not  one  of  the  whole  thousand  has  a  name, 
and  so  a  mistake  can  never  be  made  on  that  score.  As  for 
the  position,  never  having  been  there  myself,  I  can  tell 
you  nothing  about  it,  nor  do  I  think  its  position  of  any 
particular  consequence,  provided  we  find  the  spot.  Per 
haps  one  of  the  hands  on  deck  can  tell  us  the  way. ' ' 

"Hold  on,  sergeant — hold  on  a  moment,  if  you  please, 
Sergeant  Dunham.  If  I  am  to  command  this  craft,  it 
must  be  done,  if  you  please,  without  holding  any  councils 
of  war  with  the  cook  and  cabin-boy.  A  ship-master  is  a 
ship-master,  and  he  must  have  an  opinion  of  his  own,  even 
if  it  be  a  wrong  one.  I  suppose  you  know  service  well 
enough  to  understand  that  it  is  better  in  a  commander  to 
go  wrong  than  to  go  nowhere.  At  all  events,  the  Lord 
High  Admiral  couldn't  command  a  yawl  with  dignity,  if 
he  consulted  the  coxswain  every  time  he  wished  to  go 

ashore.  No  sir,  if  I  sink,  I  sink!  but,  d me,  I'll  go 

down  ship-shape  and  with  dignity. ' ' 

"But,  brother  Cap,  I  have  no  wish  to  go  down  anywhere 
unless  it  be  to  the  station  among  the  Thousand  Islands 
whither  we  are  bound. ' ' 

"Well,  well,  sergeant,  rather  than  ask  advice — that  is, 
direct,  barefaced  advice — of  a  foremast  hand,  or  any  other 
than  a  quarter-deck  officer,  I  would  go  round  to  the  whole 
thousand,  and  examine  them  one  by  one  until  we  got  the 
right  haven.  But  there  is  such  a  thing  as  coming  at  an 
opinion  without  manifesting  ignorance,  and  I  will  manage 
to  rouse  all  there  is  out  of  these  hands,  and  make  them 
think  all  the  while  that  I  am  cramming  them  with  my 
own  experience!  We  are  sometimes  obliged  to  use  the 
glass  at  sea  when  there  is  nothing  in  sight,  or  to  heave 
the  lead  long  before  we  strike  soundings.  When  a  young 
ster,  I  sailed  two  v'y'ges  with  a  man  who  navigated  his 
ship  pretty  much  by  the  latter  sort  of  information,  which 
sometimes  answers. ' ' 

"I  know  we  are  steering  in  the  right  direction  at  pres- 


THE  PATHFINDER  227 

ent,"  returned  the  sergeant;  "but  in  the  course  of  a  few 
hours  we  shall  be  up  with  a  headland,  where  we  must  feel 
our  way  with  more  caution." 

"Leave  me  to  pump  the  man  at  the  wheel,  brother,  and 
you  shall  see  that  I  will  make  him  suck  in  a  very  few 
minutes." 

Cap  and  the  sergeant  now  walked  aft,  until  they  stood 
by  the  sailor  who  was  at  the  helm,  Cap  maintaining  an 
air  of  security  and  tranquillity,  like  one  who  was  entirely 
confident  of  his  own  powers. 

"This  is  a  wholesome  air,  my  lad,"  Cap  observed,  in 
the  manner  that  a  superior  on  board  a  vessel  sometimes 
condescends  to  use  to  a  favored  inferior.  '  'Of  course,  you 
have  it  in  this  fashion  off  the  land  every  night?" 

"At  this  season  of  the  year,  sir,"  the  man  returned, 
touching  his  hat,  out  of  respect  to  his  new  commander  and 
Sergeant  Dunham's  connection. 

'  'The  same  thing,  I  take  it,  among  the  Thousand  Islands? 
The  wind  will  stand,  of  course,  though  we  shall  then  have 
land  on  every  side  of  us." 

"When  we  get  farther  east,  sir,  the  wind  will  probably 
shift,  for  there  can  then  be  no  particular  land-breeze." 

"Ay,  ay;  so  much  for  your  fresh  water !  It  has  always 
some  trick  that  is  opposed  to  nature.  Now,  down  among 
the  West  India  Islands,  one  is  just  as  certain  of  having  a 
land-breeze  as  he  is  of  having  a  sea-breeze.  In  that  re 
spect  there  is  no  difference,  though  it's  quite  in  rule  it 
should  be  different  up  here  on  this  bit  of  fresh  water.  Of 
course,  my  lad,  you  know  all  about  these  said  Thousand 
Islands?" 

"Lord  bless  you,  Master  Cap,  nobody  knows  all  about 
them,  or  anything  about  them.  They  are  a  puzzle  to  the 
oldest  sailor  on  the  lake,  and  we  don't  pretend  to  know 
even  their  names.  For  that  matter,  most  of  them  have 
no  more  names  than  a  child  that  dies  before  it  is  chris 
tened." 

"Are  you  a  Roman  Catholic?"  demanded  the  Sergeant 

sharply. 

"No,  sir,  nor  anything  else.  I'm  a  generalizer  about 
religion,  never  troubling  that  which  don't  trouble  me." 

"Hum!  a  generalizer;  that  is,  no  doubt,  one  of  the  new 


228  THE  PATHFINDER 

sects  that  afflict  the  country,"  muttered  Mr.  Dunham, 
whose  grandfather  had  been  a  New  Jersey  Quaker,  his 
father  a  Presbyterian,  and  who  had  joined  the  Church  of 
England  himself  after  he  entered  the  army. 

"I  take  it,  John, ' '  resumed  Cap.  "Your  name  is  Jack, 
I  believe?" 

"No,  sir;  I  am  called  Robert." 

"Ay,  Robert,  it's  very  much  the  same  thing,  Jack  or 
Bob;  we  use  the  two  indifferently.  I  say,  Bob,  it's  good 
holding  ground,  is  it,  down  at  this  same  station  for  which 
we  are  bound?" 

"Bless  you,  sir!  I  know  no  more  about  it  than  one  of 
the  Mohawks,  or  a  soldier  of  the  55th. ' ' 

"Did  you  never  anchor  there?" 

"Never,  sir.  Master  Eau-douce  always  makes  fast  to 
the  shore." 

"But  in  running  in  for  the  town  you  kept  the  lead  go 
ing,  out  of  question,  and  must  have  tallowed  as  usual." 

"Tallow! — and  town,  too!  Bless  your  heart,  Master 
Cap!  there  is  no  more  town  than  there  is  on  your  chin, 
and  not  half  as  much  tallow!" 

The  sergeant  smiled  grimly,  but  his  brother-in-law  did 
not  detect  this  proof  of  humor. 

"No  church  tower,  nor  light,  nor  fort,  ha?  There  is  a 
garrison,  as  you  call  it  hereaway,  at  least?" 

"Ask  Sergeant  Dunham,  sir,  if  you  wish  to  know  that. 
All  the  garrison  is  on  board  the  Scud." 

"But  in  running  in,  Bob,  which  of  the  channels  do  you 
think  the  best?  the  one  you  went  last,  or — or — or — ay,  or 
the  other?" 

"I  can't  say,  sir;  I  know  nothing  of  either." 

"You  didn't  go  to  sleep,  fellow,  at  the  wheel,  did 
you?" 

"Not  at  the  wheel,  sir,  but  down  in  the  fore-peak  in 
my  berth.  Eau-douce  sent  us  below,  soldiers  and  all, 
with  the  exception  of  the  pilot,  and  we  know  no  more  of 
the  road  than  if  we  had  never  been  over  it.  This  he  has 
always  done  in  going  in  and  coming  out;  and,  for  the  life 
of  me,  I  could  tell  you  nothing  of  the  channel,  or  the 
course,  after  we  are  once  fairly  up  with  the  islands.  No 
one  knows  anything  of  either  but  Jasper  and  the  pilot," 


THE  PATHFINDER  229 

"Here  is  a  circumstance  for  you,  sergeant,"  said  Cap, 
leading  his  brother-in-law  a  little  aside;  "there  is  no  one 
on  board  to  pump,  for  they  all  suck  from  ignorance  at  the 
first  stroke  of  the  brake.  How  the  devil  am  I  to  find  the 
way  to  this  station  for  which  we  are  bound?" 

"Sure  enough,  brother  Cap,  your  question  is  more 
easily  put  than  answered.  Is  there  no  such  thing  as  fig 
uring  it  out  by  navigation?  I  thought  you  salt-water 
mariners  were  able  to  do  as  small  a  thing  as  that.  I  have 
ofteri  read  of  their  discovering  islands,  surely." 

"That  you  have,  brother,  that  you  have;  and  this  dis 
covery  would  be  the  greatest  of  them  all;  for  it  would  not 
only  be  discovering  one  island,  but  one  island  out  of  a 
thousand. ' ' 

"Still,  the  sailors  of  the  lake  have  a  method  of  finding 
the  places  they  wish  to  go  to. " 

"If  I  have  understood  you,  sergeant,  this  station  or 
block-house  is  particularly  private." 

"It  is,  indeed,  the  utmost  care  having  been  taken  to 
prevent  a  knowledge  of  its  position  from  reaching  the 
enemy. ' ' 

"And  you  expect  me,  a  stranger  on  your  lake,  to  find 
this  place  without  chart,  course,  distance,  latitude,  longi 
tude,  or  soundings — ay,  d me,  or  tallow!  Allow  me  to 

ask  if  you  think  a  mariner  runs  by  his  nose,  like  one  of 
Pathfinder's  hounds?" 

"Well,  brother,  you  may  yet  learn  something  by  ques 
tioning  the  young  man  at  the  helm;  lean  hardly  think 
that  he  is  as  ignorant  as  he  pretends  to  be." 

"Hum! — this  looks  like  another  circumstance.  For 
that  matter,  the  case  is  getting  to  be  so  full  of  circum 
stances  that  one  hardly  knows  how  to  foot  up  the^evidence. 
But  we  will  soon  see  how  much  the  lad  knows." 

Cap  and  the  sergeant  now  returned  to  their  station 
near  the  helm,  and  the  former  renewed  his  inquiries. 

"Do  you  happen  to  know  what  may  be  the  latitude  and 
longitude  of  this  said  island,  my  lad?"  he  asked. 

"The  what,  sir?" 

"Why  the  latitude  or  longitude — one  or  both;  1mm 
particular  which,  as  I  merely  inquire  in  order  to  see  how 
they  bring  up  young  men  on  this  bit  of  fresh  water. 


230  THE  PATHFINDER 

"I'm  not  particular  about  either  myself,  sir,  and  so 
I  do  not  happen  to  know  what  you  mean?" 

"Not  what  I  mean!     You  know  what  latitude  is?" 

"Not  I,  sir!"  returned  the  man,  hesitating.  "Though 
I  believe  it  is  French  for  the  upper  lakes." 

"Whe — e — w — !"  whistled  Cap,  drawing  out  his  breath 
like  the  broken  stop  of  an  organ;  "latitude,  French  for 
upper  lakes!  Hark'e,  young  man,  do  you  know  what 
longitude  means? ' ' 

"I  believe  I  do,  sir;  that  is,  five  feet  six,  the  regulation 
height  for  soldiers  in  the  king's  service." 

"There's  the  longitude  found  out  for  you,  sergeant,  in 
the  rattling  of  a  brace-block!  You  have  some  notion  about 
a  degree,  and  minutes  and  seconds,  I  hope?" 

"Yes,  sir;  degree  means  my  betters;  and  minutes  and 
seconds  are  for  the  short  or  long  log-lines.  We  all  know 
these  things  as  well  as  the  salt-water  people. ' ' 

"D me,  brother  Dunham,  if  I  think  even  Faith 

can  get  along  on  this  lake,  much  as  they  say  it  can  do 
with  mountains.  Well,  my  lad,  you  understand  the 
azimuth,  and  measuring  distances,  and  how  to  box  the 
compass. ' ' 

"As  for  the  first,  sir,  I  can't  say  I  do.  The  distances 
we  all  know,  as  we  measure  them  from  point  to  point; 
and  as  for  boxing  the  compass,  will  turn  my  back  to  no 
admiral  in  his  Majesty's  fleet.  Nothe,  nothe  and  by  east, 
nothe,  nothe-east,  nothe-east  and  by  nothe,  nothe-east, 
nothe-east  and  by  east,  east-nothe-east,  east  and  by  nothe- 
east — 

"That  will  do,  that  will  do.  You'll  bring  about  a  shift 
of  wind  if  you  go  on  in  this  manner.  I  see  very  plainly, 
sergeant, ' '  walking  away  again,  and  dropping  his  voice, 
"we've  nothing  to  hope  for  from  that  chap.  I'll  stand  on 
two  hours  longer  on  this  tack,  when  we'll  heave-to  and 
get  the  soundings,  after  which  we  will  be  governed  by 
circumstances. ' ' 

To  this  the  sergeant  made  no  objections;  and  as  the 
wind  grew  lighter,  as  usual  with  the  advance  of  night, 
and  there  were  no  immediate  obstacles  to  the  navigation, 
he  made  a  bed  of  a  sail  on  deck,  and  was  soon  lost  in  the 
sound  sleep  of  a  soldier.  Cap  continued  to  walk  the  deck, 


THE  PATHFINDER  231 

for  he  was  one  whose  iron  frame  set  fatigue  at  defiance 
and  not  once  that  night  did  he  close  his  eyes. 

It  was  broad  daylight  when  Sergeant  Dunham  awoke, 
and  the  exclamation  of  surprise  that  escaped  him,  as  he 
rose  to  his  feet  and  began  to  look  about  him,  was  stronger 
than  it  was  usual  for  one  so  drilled  to  suffer  to  be  heard. 
He  found  the  weather  entirely  changed,  the  view  bounded 
by  a  driving  mist  that  limited  the  visible  horizon  to  a  circle 
of  about  a  mile  in  diameter,  the  lake  raging  and  covered 
with  foam,  and  the  Scud  lying-to.  A  brief  conversation 
with  his  brother-in-law  let  him  into  the  secrets  of  all  these 
sudden  changes. 

According  to  the  account  of  Master  Cap,  the  wind  had 
died  away  to  a  calm  about  midnight,  or  just  as  he  was 
thinking  of  heaving- to,  to  sound,  for  islands  ahead  were 
beginning  to  be  seen.  At  one  A.  M.  it  began  to  blow  from 
the  northeast,  accompanied  by  a  drizzle,  and  he  stood  off 
to  the  northward  and  westward,  knowing  that  the  coast  of 
New  York  lay  in  the  opposite  direction.  At  half-past  one 
he  stowed  the  flying-jib,  reefed  the  mainsail,  and  took 
the  bonnet  off  the  jib.  At  two  he  was  compelled  to  get  a 
second  reef  aft;  and  by  half-past  two  he  had  put  a  balance- 
reef  in  the  sail,  and  was  lying-to. 

"I  can't  say  but  the  boat  behaves  well,  sergeant,"  the 
old  sailor  added  "but  it  blows  forty-two  pounders.  I  had 
no  idea  there  were  any  such  currents  of  air  up  here  on 
this  bit  of  fresh  water,  though  I  care  not  the  knotting  of 
a  yarn  for  it,  as  your  lake  has  now  somewhat  of  a  natural 

look;  and  if  this  d d  water  had  a  savor  of  salt  about  it, 

one  might  be  comfortable. ' ' 

"How  long  have  you  been  heading  in  this  direction, 
brother  Cap?"  inquired  the  prudent  soldier;  "and  at  what 
rate  may  we  be  going  through  the  water?" 

"Why,  two  or  three  hours,  mayhap,  and  she  went  1 
a  horse  for  the  first  pair  of  them.  Oh,  we've  a  fine  offing 
now!  for,  to  own  the  truth,  little  relishing  the  neighbor 
hood  of  them  said  islands,  although  they  are  to  windward, 
I  took  the  helm  myself,  and  run  her  off  free  for  some 
league  or  two.  We  are  well  to  leeward  of  them,  I'll  engage 
— I  say  to  leeward ;  for  though  one  might  wish  to  be  well  to 
windward  of  one  island,  or  even  half  a  dozen,  when  it 


232  THE  PATHFINDER 

comes  to  a  thousand,  the  better  way  is  to  give  it  up  at 
once,  and  to  slide  down  under  their  lee  as  fast  as  possible. 
No,  no;  there  they  are  up  yonder  in  the  dingle;  and  there 
they  may  stay,  for  anything  Charles  Cap  cares." 

"As  the  north  shore  lies  only  some  five  or  six  leagues 
from  us,  brother,  and  I  know  there  is  a  large  bay  in  that 
quarter,  might  it  not  be  well  to  consult  some  of  the  crew 
concerning  our  position,  if,  indeed,  we  do  not  call  up 
Jasper  Eau-douce,  and  tell  him  to  carry  us  back  to  Os- 
wego?  For  it  is  quite  impossible  we  should  ever  reach 
the  station  with  this  wind  directly  in  our  teeth." 

"There  are  several  serious  professional  reasons,  sergeant 
against  all  your  propositions.  In  the  first  place,  an  ad 
mission  of  ignorance  on  the  part  of  a  commander  would 
destroy  discipline.  No  matter,  brother;  I  understand 
your  shake  of  the  head,  but  nothing  capsizes  discipline 
so  much  as  to  confess  ignorance.  I  once  knew  a  master  of 
a  vessel  who  went  a  week  on  a  wrong  course  rather  than 
allow  he  had  made  a  mistake;  and  it  was  surprising  how 
much  he  rose  in  the  opinions  of  his  people,  just  because 
they  could  not  understand  him. ' ' 

"That  may  do  on  salt  water,  brother  Cap,  but  it  will 
hardly  do  on  fresh.  Rather  than  wreck  my  command  on 
the  Canada  shore,  I  shall  feel  it  a  duty  to  take  Jasper  out 
of  arrest. ' ' 

"And  make  a  haven  in  Frontenac.  No,  sergeant;  the 
Scud  is  in  good  hands,  and  will  now  learn  something  of 
seamanship.  We  have  a  fine  offing,  and  no  one  but  a 
madman  would  think  of  going  upon  a  coast  in  a  gale  like 
this.  I  shall  beware  every  watch,  and  then  we  shall  be  safe 
against  all  dangers  but  those  of  the  drift,  which,  in  a 
light  low  craft  like  this,  without  top-hamper,  will  be  next 
to  nothing.  Leave  it  all  to  me,  sergeant,  and  I  pledge 
you  the  character  of  Charles  Cap  that  all  will  go  well." 

Sergeant  Dunham  was  fain  to  yield.  He  had  great  con 
fidence  in  his  connection's  professional  skill,  and  hoped 
that  he  would  take  such  care  of  the  cutter  as  would  amply 
justify  his  opinion  of  him.  On  the  other  hand,  as  dis 
trust,  like  care,  grows  by  what  it  feeds  on,  he  entertained 
so  much  apprehension  of  treachery,  that  he  was  quite 
willing  any  one  but  Jasper  should  just  then  have  the  con- 


THE  PATHFINDER  233 

trol  of  the  fate  of  the  whole  party.  Truth,  moreover, 
compels  us  to  admit  another  motive.  The  particular  duty 
on  which  he  was  now  sent  of  right  should  have  been  con 
fided  to  a  commissioned  officer;  and  Major  Duncan  had 
excited  a  good  deal  of  discontent  among  the  subalterns  of 
the  garrison,  by  having  confided  it  to  one  of  the  sergeant's 
humble  station.  To  return  without  having  even  reached 
the  point  of  destination,  therefore,  the  latter  felt  would 
be  a  failure  from  which  he  was  not  likely  soon  to  recover, 
and  the  measure  would  at  once  be  the  means  of  placing  a 
superior  in  his  shoes. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

"Thou  glorious  mirror,  where  the  Almighty's  form 
Glasses  itself  in  tempests  ;  in  all  time. 
Calm  or  convulsed— in  breeze,  or  gale,  or  storm 
Icing  the  pole,  or  in  the  torrid  clime 
Dark,  heaving  ;— boundless,  endless,  and  sublime— 
The  image  of  eternity  ;  the  throne 
Of  the  Invisible ;  even  from  out  thy  slime 
The  monsters  of  the  deep  are  made  ;  each  zone 
Obeys  thee;  thou  goest  forth,  dread,  fathomless,  alone." 

—  BYRON. 

As  the  day  advanced,  that  portion  of  the  inmates  of  the 
vessel  which  had  the  liberty  of  doing  so  appeared  on 
deck.  As  yet  the  sea  was  not  very  high,  from  which  it 
was  inferred  that  the  cutter  was  still  under  the  lee  of  the 
islands;  but  it  was  apparent  to  all  who  understood  the 
lake  that  they  were  about  to  experience  one  of  the  heavy 
autumnal  gales  of  that  region.  Land  was  nowhere  visible; 
and  the  horizon  on  every  side  exhibited  that  gloomy  void, 
which  lends  to  all  views  on  vast  bodies  of  water  the  sub 
limity  of  mystery.  The  swells,  or,  as  landsmen  term  them, 
the  waves,  were  short  and  curling,  breaking  of  necessity 
sooner  than  the  longer  seas  of  the  ocean;  while  the  ele 
ment  itself,  instead  of  presenting  that  beautiful  hue  which 
rivals  the  deep  tint  of  the  southern  sky,  looked  green  and 
angry,  though  wanting  in  the  luster  that  is  derived  from 
the  rays  of  the  sun. 

The  soldiers  were  soon  satisfied  with  the  prospect,  and 
one  by  one  they  disappeared,  until  none  were  left  on  deck 
but  the  crew,  the  sergeant,  Cap,  Pathfinder,  the  quarter 
master,  and  Mabel.  There  was  a  shade  on  the  brow  of  the 
last,  who  had  been  made  acquainted  with  the  real  state  of 
things,  and  who  had  fruitlessly  ventured  an  appeal  in 
favor  of  Jasper's  restoration  to  the  command.  A  night's 
rest  and  a  night's  reflection  appeared  also  to  have  con 
firmed  the  Pathfinder  in  his  opinion  of  the  young  man's 
innocence;  and  he,  too,  had  made  a  warm  appeal  on  behalf 
of  his  friend,  though  with  the  same  want  of  success. 

234 


THE  PATHFINDER  235 

Several  hours  passed  away,  the  wind  gradually  getting 
heavier  and  the  sea  rising,  until  the  motion  of  the  cutter 
compelled  Mabel  and  the  quartermaster  to  retreat  also. 
Cap  swore  several  times;  and  it  was  now  evident  that  the 
Scud  was  drifting  into  the  broader  and  deeper  parts  of 
the  lake,  the  seas  raging  down  upon  her  in  a  way  that 
none  but  a  vessel  of  superior  mould  and  build  could  have 
long  ridden  and  withstood.  All  this,  however,  gave  Cap 
no  uneasiness;  but,  like  the  hunter  that  pricks  his  ears  at 
the  sound  of  the  horn,  or  the  war-horse  that  paws  and 
snorts  with  pleasure  at  the  roll  of  the  drum,  the  whole 
scene  awakened  all  that  was  man  within  him;  and  instead 
of  the  captious,  supercilious,  and  dogmatic  critic,  quar 
reling  with  trifles  and  exaggerating  immaterial  things, 
he  began  to  exhibit  the  qualities  of  the  hardy  and  expe 
rienced  seaman  which  he  truly  was.  The  hands  soon 
imbibed  a  respect  for  his  skill;  and,  though  they  wondered 
at  the  disappearance  of  their  old  commander  and  the  pilot, 
for  which  no  reason  had  been  publicly  given,  they  soon 
yielded  an  implicit  and  cheerful  obedience  to  the  new  one. 

"This  bit  of  freshwater,  after  all,  brother  Dunham, 
has  some  spirit,  I  find,"  cried  Cap  about  noon,  rubbing 
his  hands  in  pure  satisfaction  at  finding  himself  once  more 
wrestling  with  the  elements.  "The  wind  seems  to  be  an 
honest  oldfashioned  gale,  and  the  seas  have  a  fanciful  re 
semblance  to  those  of  the  Gulf  Stream.  I  like  this,  ser 
geant,  I  like  this,  and  shall  get  to  respect  your  lake,  if 
it  hold  out  twenty-four  hours  longer  in  the  fashion  in 
which  it  has  begun." 

"Land,  ho!"  shouted  the  man  who  was  stationed  on  the 
forecastle. 

Cap  hurried  forward;  and  there,  sure  enough,  the  land 
was  visible  through  the  drizzle,  at  the  distance  of  about 
half  a  mile,  the  cutter  heading  directly  towards  it.  The 
first  impulse  of  the  old  seaman  was  to  give  an  order  to 
"stand  by,  to  ware  off  shore;"  but  the  cool-headed  soldier 
restrained  him. 

"By  going  a  little  nearer,"  said  <the  sergeant,  som< 
of  us  may  recognize  the  place.  Most  of  us  know  the 
American  shore  in  this  part  of  the  lake;  and  it  will  be 
something  gained  to  learn  our  position." 


236  THE  PATHFINDER 

"Very  true,  very  true;  if,  indeed,  there  is  any  chance 
of  that  we  will  hold  on.  What  is  this  off  here,  little  on 
our  weather-bow?  It  looks  like  a  low  headland." 

"The  garrison,  by  Jove!"  exclaimed  the  other,  whose 
trained  eye  sooner  recognized  the  military  outlines  than 
the  less  instructed  senses  of  his  connection. 

The  sergeant  was  not  mistaken.  There  was  the  fort, 
sure  enough,  though  it  looked  dim  and  indistinct  through 
the  fine  rain,  as  if  it  were  seen  in  the  dusk  of  evening  or 
the  haze  of  morning.  The  low,  sodded,  and  verdant  ram 
parts,  the  somber  palisades,  now  darker  than  ever  with 
water,  the  roof  of  a  house  or  two,  the  tall,  solitary  flag 
staff,  with  its  halyards  blown  steadily  out  into  a  curve 
that  appeared  traced  in  immovable  lines  in  the  air,  were 
all  soon  to  be  seen,  though  no  sign  of  animated  life  could 
be  discovered.  Even  the  sentinel  was  housed;  and  at  first 
it  was  believed  that  no  eye  would  detect  the  presence  of 
their  own  vessel.  But  the  unceasing  vigilance  of  a  border 
garrison  did  not  slumber;  one  of  the  look-outs  probably 
made  the  interesting  discovery;  a  man  or  two  were  seen 
on  some  elevated  stands,  and  then  the  entire  ramparts 
next  the  lake  were  dotted  with  human  beings. 

The  whole  scene  was  one  in  which  sublimity  was  singu 
larly  relieved  by  the  picturesque.  The  raging  of  the 
tempest  had  a  character  of  duration  that  rendered  it  easy 
to  imagine  it  might  be  a  permanent  feature  of  the  spot. 
The  roar  of  the  wind  was  without  intermission,  and  the 
raging  water  answered  to  its  dull  but  grand  strains  with 
hissing  spray,  a  menacing  wash,  and  sullen  surges.  The 
drizzle  made  a  medium  for  the  eye  which  closely  resembled 
that  of  a  thin  mist,  softening  and  rendering  mysterious 
the  images  it  revealed,  while  the  genial  feeling  that  is 
apt  to  accompany  a  gale  of  wind  on  water  contributed  to 
aid  the  milder  influences  of  the  moment.  The  dark  inter 
minable  forest  hove  up  out  of  the  obscurity,  grand,  som 
ber,  and  impressive,  while  the  solitary,  peculiar,  and 
picturesque  glimpses  of  life  that  were  caught  in  and-about 
the  fort,  formed  a  refuge  for  the  eye  to  retreat  to  when 
oppressed  with  the  more  imposing  objects  of  nature. 

"They  see  us,"  said  the  sergeant,  "and  think  we  have 
returned  on  account  of  the  gale,  and  have  fallen  to  lee- 


]  THE  PATHFINDER  237 

ward  of  the  port.  Yes,  there  is  Major  Duncan  himself  on 
the  northeastern  bastion;  I  know  him  by  his  height,  and 
by  the  officers  around  him." 

"Sergeant,  it  would  be  worth  standing  a  little  jeering, 
f  we  could  fetch  into  the  river,  and  come  safely  to  an 
anchor.     In  that  case,   too,  we  might  land  this  Master 
Eau-douce,  and  purify  the  boat." 

"It  would  indeed;  but,  as  poor  a  sailor  as  I  am,  I  well 
know  it  cannot  be  done.  Nothing  that  sails  the  lake  can 
turn  to  windward  against  this  gale;  and  there  is  no  an 
chorage  outside  in  weather  like  this." 

"I  know  it,  I  see  it,  sergeant;  and  pleasant  as  is  that 
sight  to  you  landsmen,  we  must  leave  it.  For  myself,  I 
am  never  so  happy  in  heavy  weather  as  when  I  am  certain 
that  the  land  is  behind  me." 

The  Scud  had  now  forged  so  near  in,  that  it  became 
indispensable  to  lay  her  head  off  shore  again,  and  the  ne 
cessary  orders  were  given.  The  storm-staysail  was  set 
forward,  the  gaff  lowered,  the  helm  put  up,  and  the  light 
craft,  that  seemed  to  sport  with  the  elements  like  a  duck, 
fell  off  a  little,  drew  ahead  swiftly,  obeyed  her  rudder, 
and  was  soon  flying  away  on  the  top  of  the  surges,  dead 
before  the  gale.  While  making  this  rapid  flight,  though 
the  land  still  remained  in  view  on  her  larboard  beam,  the 
fort  and  the  groups  of  anxious  spectators  on  its  rampart 
were  swallowed  up  in  the  midst.  Then  followed  the  evo 
lutions  necessary  to  bring  the  head  of  the  cutter  up  to  the 
wind,  when  she  again  began  to  wallow  her  weary  way 
towards  the  north  shore. 

Hours  now  passed  before  any  further  change  was  made, 
the  wind  increasing  in  force,  until  even  the  dogmatical 
Cap  fairly  admitted  it  as  blowing  a  thorough  gale  of 
wind.  About  sunset  the  Scud  wore  again  to  keep  her  off  the 
north  shore  during  the  hours  of  darkness;  and  at  midnight 
her  temporary  master,  who,  by  questioning  the  crew  in 
an  indirect  manner,  had  obtained  some  general  knowledge 
of  the  size  and  shape  of  the  lake,  believed  himself  to  be 
about  midway  between  the  two  shores.  The  height  and 
length  of  the  seas  aided  this  impression;  and  it  must  be 
added  that  Cap  by  this  time  began  to  feel  a  respect  for 
fresh  water  which  twenty-four  hours  earlier  he  would 


238  THE  PATHFINDER 

have  derided  as  impossible.  Just  as  the  night  turned,  the 
fury  of  the  wind  became  so  great  that  he  found  it  impos 
sible  to  bear  up  against  it,  the  water  falling  on  the  deck 
of  the  little  craft  in  such  masses  as  to  cause  it  to  shake  to 
the  center,  and,  though  a  vessel  of  singularly  lively  qual 
ities,  to  threaten  to  bury  it  beneath  its  weight.  The 
people  of  the  Scud  averred  that  never  before  had  they  been 
out  in  such  a  tempest,  which  was  true;  for,  possessing  a 
perfect  knowledge  of  all  the  rivers  and  headlands  and 
havens,  Jasper  would  have  carried  the  cutter  in  shore  long 
ere  this,  and  placed  her  in  safety  in  some  secure  anchor 
age.  But  Cap  still  disdained  to  consult  the  young  master, 
who  continued  below,  determining  to  act  like  a  mariner 
of  the  broad  ocean. 

It  was  one  in  the  morning  when  the  storm-staysail  was 
again  got  on  the  Scud,  the  head  of  the  mainsail  lowered, 
and  the  cutter  put  before  the  wind.  Although  the  canvas 
now  exposed  was  merely  a  rag  in  surface,  the  little  craft 
nobly  justified  the  use  of  the  name  she  bore.  For  eight 
hours  did  she  scud  in  truth;  and  it  was  almost  with  the 
velocity  of  the  gulls  that  wheeled  wildly  over  her  in  the 
tempest,  apparently  afraid  to  alight  in  the  boiling  caldron 
of  the  lake.  The  dawn  of  day  brought  little  change;  for 
no  other  horizon  became  visible  than  the  little  circle  of 
drizzling  sky  and  water  already  described,  in  which  it 
seemed  as  if  the  elements  were  rioting  in  a  sort  of  chaotic 
confusion.  During  this  time  the  crew  and  passengers  of 
the  cutter  were  of  necessity  passive.  Jasper  and  the  pilot 
remained  below;  but,  the  motion  of  the  vessel  having  be 
come  easier,  nearly  all  the  rest  were  on  deck.  The  morn 
ing  meal  had  been  taken  in  silence,  and  eye  met  eye,  as  if 
their  owners  asked  each  other,  in  dumb  show,  what  was  to 
be  the  end  of  this  strife  in  the  elements.  Cap,  however, 
was  perfectly  composed,  and  his  face  brightened,  his  step 
grew  firmer,  and  his  whole  air  more  assured,  as  the  storm 
increased,  making  larger  demands  on  his  professional  skill 
and  personal  spirit.  He  stood  on  the  forecastle,  his  arms 
crossed,  balancing  his  body  with  a  seaman's  instinct,  while 
his  eyes  watched  the  caps  of  the  seas,  as  they  broke  and 
glanced  past  the  reeling  cutter,  itself  in  such  swift  motion, 
as  if  they  were  the  scud  flying  athwart  tv.^  sky.  At  this 


THE  PATHFINDER  239 

sublime  instant  one  of  the  hands  gave  the  unexpected  cry 
of    'A  sail!" 

There  was  so  much  of  the  wild  and  solitary  character  of 
the  wilderness  about  Ontario,  that  one  scarcely  expected 
to  meet  with  a  vessel  on  its  waters.  The  Scud  herself  to 
those  who  were  in  her,  resembled  a  man  threading  the 
forest  alone,  and  the  meeting  was  like  that  of  two  solitary 
hunters  beneath  the  broad  canopy  of  leaves  that  then  cov 
ered  so  many  millions  of  acres  on  the  continent  of  Amer 
ica.  The  peculiar  state  of  the  weather  served  to  increase 
the  romantic,  almost  supernatural  appearance  of  the  pas 
sage.  Cap  alone  regarded  it  with  practised  eyes,  and  even 
he  felt  his  iron  nerves  thrill  under  the  sensations  that 
were  awakened  by  the  wild  features  of  the  scene. 

The  strange  vessel  was  about  two  cables'  length  ahead 
of  the  Scud,  standing  by  the  wind  athwart  her  bows, 
and  steering  a  course  to  render  it  probable  that  the  lat 
ter  would  pass  within  a  few  yards  of  her.  She  was  a 
full-rigged  ship;  and,  seen  through  the  misty  medium 
of  the  tempest,  the  most  experienced  eye  could  detect  no 
imperfection  in  her  gear  or  construction.  The  only  can 
vas  she  had  set  was  a  close-reefed  main-topsail,  and  two 
small  storm-staysails,  one  forward  and  the  other  aft.  Still 
the  power  of  the  wind  pressed  so  hard  upon  her  as  to  bear 
her  down  nearly  to  her  beam-ends,  whenever  the  hull  was 
not  righted  by  the  buoyancy  of  some  wave  under  her  lee. 
Her  spars  were  all  in  their  places,  and  by  her  motion 
through  the  water,  which  might  hav»  equaled  four  knots 
in  the  hour,  it  was  apparent  that  she  steered  a  little  free. 

"The  fellow  must  know  his  position  well,"  said  Cap, 
as  the  cutter  flew  down  towards  the  ship  with  a  velocity 
almost  equaling  that  of  the  gale,  "for  he  is  standing  boldly 
to  the  southward,  where  he  expects  to  find  anchorage  or  a 
haven.  No  man  in  his  senses  would  run  off  free  in  that 
fashion,  that  was  not  driven  to  scudding,  like  ourselves, 
who  did  not  perfectly  understand  where  he  was  going." 

"We  have  made  an  awful  run,  captain,"  returned  the 
man  to  whom  this  remark  had  been  addressed.  "That  is 
the  French  king's  ship,  Lee-my-calm  (Le  Montcalm),  and 
she  is  standing  in  for  the  Niagara,  where  her  owner  has 
a  garrison  and  a  port.  We've  made  an  awful  run  of  it!' 


240  THE  PATHFINDER 

"Ay,  bad  luck  to  him!  Frenchman-like,  he  skulks  into 
port  the  moment  he  sees  an  English  bottom." 

"It  might  be  well  for  us  if  we  could  follow  him,"  re 
turned  the  man,  shaking  his  head  despondingly,  "for  we 
are  getting  into  the  end  of  a  bay  up  here  at  the  head  of 
the  lake,  and  it  is  uncertain  whether  we  ever  get  out  of 
it  again!" 

"Pooh,  man,  pooh!  We  have  plenty  of  sea- room,  and 
a  good  English  hull  beneath  us.  We  are  no  Johnny 
Crapauds  to  hide  ourselves  behind  a  point  or  a  fort  on 
account  of  a  puff  of  wind.  Mind  your  helm,  sir!" 

The  order  was  given  on  account  of  the  menacing  ap 
pearance  of  the  approaching  passage.  The  Scud  was  now 
heading  directly  for  the  fore-foot  of  the  Frenchman;  and, 
the  distance  between  the  two  vessels  having  diminished 
to  a  hundred  yards,  it  was  momentarily  questionable  if 
there  was  room  to  pass. 

"Port,  sir,  port,"  shouted  Cap.  "Port  your  helm  and 
pass  astern!" 

The  crew  of  the  Frenchman  were  seen  assembling  to 
windward,  and  a  few  muskets  were  pointed,  as  if  to  order 
the  people  of  the  Scud  to  keep  off.  Gesticulations  were 
observed,  but  the  sea  was  too  wild  and  menacing  to  admit 
of  the  ordinary  expedients  of  war.  The  water  was  drip 
ping  from  the  muzzles  of  two  or  three  light  guns  on  board 
the  ship,  but  no  one  thought  of  loosening  them  for  service 
in  such  a  tempest.  Her  black  sides,  as  they  emerged  from 
a  wave,  glistened  and  seemed  to  frown;  but  the  wind 
howled  through  her  rigging,  whistling  the  thousand  notes 
of  a  ship;  and  the  hails  and  cries  that  escape  a  Frenchman 
with  so  much  readiness  were  inaudible. 

"Let  him  halloo  himself  hoarse!"  growled  Cap.  "This 
is  no  weather  to  whisper  secrets  in.  Port,  sir,  port!" 

The  man  at  the  helm  obeyed,  and  the  next  send  of  the 
sea  drove  the  Scud  down  upon  the  quarter  of  the  ship,  so 
near  her  that  the  old  mariner  himself  recoiled  a  step,  in 
a  vague  expectation  that,  at  the  next  surge  ahead,  she 
would  drive  bows  foremost  directly  into  the  planks  of  the 
other  vessel.  But  this  was  not  to  be;  rising  from  the 
crouching  posture  she  had  taken,  like  a  panther  about  to 
leap,  the  cutter  dashed  onward,  and  at  the  next  instant 


THE  PATHFINDER  241 

she  was  glancing  past  the  stern  of  her  enemy,  just  clearing 
the  end  of  her  spanker-boom  with  her  own  lower  yard. 

The  young  Frenchman  who  commanded  the  Montcalm 
leaped  on  the  taffrail;  and,  with  that  high-toned  courtesy 
which  relieves  even  the  worst  acts  of  his  countryman,  he 
raised  his  cap  and  smiled  a  salutation  as  the  Scud  shot 
past.  There  were  bonhomie  and  good  taste  in  this  act  of 
courtesy,  when  circumstances  allowed  of  no  other  com 
munications;  but  they  were  lost  on  Cap,  who,  with  an 
instinct  quite  as  true  to  his  race,  shook  his  fist  menacing 
ly,  and  muttered  to  himself: 

"Ay,  ay,  it'sd d  lucky  for  you  I've  no  armament  on 

board  here,  or  I'd  send  you  in  to  get  new  cabin-windows 
fitted.     Sergeant,  he's  a  humbug. " 

1  'Twas  civil,  brother  Cap, "  returned  the  other,  lower 
ing  his  hand  from  the  military  salute  which  his  pride  as 
a  soldier  had  induced  him  to  return,  "  'twas  civil,  and 
that's  as  much  as  you  can  expect  from  a  Frenchman. 
What  he  really  meant  by  it  no  one  can  say." 

"He  is  not  heading  up  to  this  sea  without  an  object, 
neither.  Well,  let  him  run  in,  if  he  can  get  there;  we 
will  keep  the  lake,  like  hearty  English  mariners." 

This  sounded  gloriously,  but  Cap  eyed  with  envy  the 
glittering  black  mass  of  the  Montcalm's  hull,  her  waving 
topsail,  and  the  misty  tracery  of  her  spars,  as  she  grew 
less  and  less  distinct,  and  finally  disappeared  in  the  drizzle, 
in  a  form  as  shadowy  as  that  of  some  unreal  image. 
Gladly  would  he  have  followed  in  her  wake  had  he  dared ; 
for,  to  own  the  truth,  the  prospect  of  another  stormy 
night  in  the  midst  of  the  wild  waters  that  were  raging 
around  him  brought  little  consolation.  Still  he  had  too 
much  professional  pride  to  betray  his  uneasiness,  and 
those  under  his  care  relied  on  his  knowledge  and  re 
sources,  with  the  implicit  and  blind  confidence  that  the 
ignorant  are  apt  to  feel. 

A  few  hours  succeeded,  and  darkness  came  again  to  in 
crease  the  perils  of  the  Scud.  A  hull  in  the  gale,  how 
ever,  had  induced  Cap  to  come  by  the  wind  once  more,  and 
throughout  the  night  the  cutter  was  lying-to  as  before, 
head-reaching  as  a  matter  of  course,  and  occasionally 
wariaf  to  keep  off  the  land.  It  is  unnecessary  to  dwell 
16 


242  THE  PATHFINDER 

on  the  incidents  of  this  night,  which  resembled  those  of 
any  other  gale  of  wind.  There  were  the  pitching  of  the 
vessel,  the  hissing  of  the  waters,  the  dashing  of  spray, 
the  shocks  that  menaced  annihilation  to  the  little  craft  as 
she  plunged  into  the  seas,  the  undying  howl  ef  the  wind, 
and  the  fearful  drift.  The  last  was  the  most  serious 
danger;  for,  though  exceedingly  weatherly  under  her 
canvas,  and  totally  without  top-hamper,  the  Scud  was  so 
light,  that  the  combing  of  the  swells  would  seem  at  times 
to  wash  her  down  to  leeward  with  a  velocity  as  great  as 
that  of  the  surges  themselves. 

During  this  night  Cap  slept  soundly,  and  for  several 
hours.  The  day  was  just  dawning  when  he  felt  himself 
shaken  by  the  shoulder;  and  arousing  himself,  he  found 
the  Pathfinder  standing  at  his  side.  During  the  gale  the 
guide  had  appeared  little  on  deck,  for  his  natural  modesty 
told  him  that  seamen  alone  should  interfere  with  the 
management  of  the  vessel;  and  he  was  willing  to  show 
the  same  reliance  on  those  who  had  charge  of  the  Scud, 
as  he  expected  those  who  followed  through  the  forest  to 
manifest  in  his  own  skill;  but  he  now  thought  himself 
justified  in  interfering,  which  he  did  in  his  own  unsophis 
ticated  and  peculiar  manner. 

"Sleep  is  sweet,  Master  Cap,"  said  he,  as  soon  as  the 
eyes  of  the  latter  were  fairly  open,  and  his  consciousness 
had  sufficiently  returned,  "sleep  is  sweet,  as  I  know  from 
experience,  but  life  is  sweeter  still.  Look  about  you, 
and  say  if  this  is  exactly  the  moment  for  a  commander  to 
be  off  his  feet." 

"How  now?  how  now,  Master  Pathfinder?"  growled 
Cap,  in  the  first  moments  of  his  awakened  faculties. 
"Are  you,  too,  getting  on  the  side  of  the  grumblers? 
When  ashore  I  admired  your  sagacity  in  running  through 
the  worst  shoals  without  a  compass;  and  since  we  have 
been  afloat,  your  meekness  and  submission  have  been  as 
pleasant  as  your  confidence  on  your  own  ground.  I  little 
expected  such  a  summons  from  you. ' ' 

"As  for  myself,  Master  Cap,  I  feel  I  have  my  gifts,  and 
I  believe  they'll  interfere  with  those  of  no  other  man; 
but  the  case  may  be  different  with  Mabel  Dunham.  She 
has  her  gifts,  too,  it  is  true;  but  they  are  not  rude  like 


THE  PATHFINDER  243 

ours,  but  gentle  and  womanish,  as  they  ought  to  be.  It's 
on  her  account  that  I  speak,  and  not  on  my  own. ' ' 

"Ay,  ay,  I  begin  to  understand.  The  girl  is  a  good 
girl,  my  worthy  friend;  but  she  is  a  soldier's  daughter 
and  a  sailor's  niece,  and  ought  not  to  be  too  tame  or  too 
tender  in  a  gale.  Does  she  show  any  fear?" 

"Not  she!  not  she!  Mabel  is  a  woman,  but  she  is  rea 
sonable  and  silent.  Not  a  word  have  I  heard  from  her 
concerning  our  doings ;  though  I  do  think,  Master  Cap, 
she  would  like  it  better  if  Jasper  Eau-douce  were  put  into 
his  proper  place,  and  things  were  restored  to  their  old 
situation,  like.  This  is  human  natur'." 

"I'll  warrant  it — girl-like,  and  Dunham-like,  too. 
Anything  is  better  than  an  old  uncle,  and  everybody  knows 
more  than  an  old  seaman.  This  is  human  natur',  Master 

Pathfinder,  and  d me  if  I'm  the  man  to  sheer  a  fathom, 

starboard  or  port,  for  all  the  human  natur'  that  can  be 
found  in  a  minx  of  twenty — ay,  or"  (lowering  his  voice  a 
little)  "for  all  that  can  be  paraded  in  his  Majesty's  55th 
regiment  of  foot.  I've  not  been  at  sea  forty  years,  to 
come  up  on  this  bit  of  fresh  water  to  be  taught  human 
natur'.  How  this  gale  holds  out!  It  blows  as  hard  at 
this  moment  as  if  Boreas  had  just  clapped  his  hand  upon 
the  bellows.  And  what  is  all  this  to  leeward?"  (rubbing 
his  eyes) — "land!  as  sure  as  my  name  is  Cap — and  high 
land,  too." 

The  Pathfinder  made  no  immediate  answer;  but,  shaking 
his  head,  he  watched  the  expression  of  his  companion's 
face,  with  a  look  of  strong  anxiety  in  his  own. 

"Land,  as  certain  as  this  is  the  Scud!"  repeated  Cap; 
"a  lee  shore,  and  that,  too,  within  a  league  of  us,  with 
as  pretty  a  line  of  breakers  as  one  could  find  on  the  beach 
of  all  Long  Island!" 

"And  is  that  encouraging?  or  is  it  disheartening?"  in 
quired  the  Pathfinder. 

"Ha!  encouraging — disheartening! — why,  neither.  No, 
no,  there  is  nothing  encouraging  about  it;  and  as  for 
disheartening,  nothing  ought  to  dishearten  a  seaman. 
You  never  get  disheartend  or  afraid  in  the  woods,  my 
friend?" 

"I'll  not  say  that,  I'll  not  say  that.     When  the  danger 


244  THE  PATHFINDER 

is  great,  it  is  my  gift  to  see  it,  and  know  it,  and  to  try 
to  avoid  it;  else  would  my  scalp  long  since  have  been 
drying  in  a  Mingo  wigwam.  On  this  lake,  however,  I  can 
see  no  trail,  and  I  feel  it  my  duty  to  submit;  though  I 
think  we  ought  to  remember  there  is  such  a  person  as 
Mabel  Dunham  on  board.  But  here  comes  her  father, 
and  he  will  naturally  feel  for  his  own  child." 

"We  are  seriously  situated,  I  believe,  brother  Cap," 
said  the  sergeant,  when  he  had  reached  the  spot,  "by 
what  1  can  gather  from  the  two  hands  on  the  forecastle? 
They  tell  me  the  cutter  cannot  carry  any  more  sail,  and 
her  drift  is  so  great  we  shall  go  ashore  in  an  hour  or  two. 
I  hope  their  fears  have  deceived  them?" 

Cap  made  no  reply;  but  he  gazed  at  the  land  with  a 
rueful  face,  and  then  looked  to  windward  with  an  expres 
sion  of  ferocity,  as  if  he  would  gladly  have  quarreled 
with  the  weather. 

"It  may  be  well,  brother,"  the  sergeant  continued, 
"to  send  for  Jasper  and  consult  him  as  to  what  is  to  be 
done.  There  are  no  French  here  to  dread;  and,  under 
all  circumstances,  the  boy  will  save  us  from  drowning  if 
possible. ' ' 

"Ay,  ay,  'tis  these  cursed  circumstances  that  have  done 
all  the  mischief.  But  let  the  fellow  come;  let  him  come; 
a  few  well-managed  questions  will  bring  the  truth  out  of 
him,  I'll  warrant  you." 

This  acquiescence  on  the  part  of  the  dogmatical  Cap 
was  no  sooner  obtained,  than  Jasper  was  sent  for.  The 
young  man  instantly  made  his  appearance,  his  whole  air, 
countenance,  and  mien  expressive  of  mortification,  hu 
mility,  and,  as  his  observers  fancied,  rebuked  deception. 
When  he  first  stepped  on  deck,  Jasper  cast  one  hurried, 
anxious  glance  around,  as  if  curious  to  know  the  situation 
of  the  cutter;  and  that  glance  sufficed,  it  would  seem,  to 
let  him  into  the  secret  of  all  her  perils.  At  first  he  looked 
to  windward,  as  is  usual  with  every  seaman;  then  he 
turned  round  the  horizon,  until  his  eye  caught  a  view  of 
the  high  lands  to  leeward,  when  the  whole  truth  burst 
upon  him  at  once. 

"I've  sent  for  you,  Master  Jasper,"  said  Cap,  folding 
his  arms,  and  balancing  his  body  with  the  dignity  of  the 


THE  PATHFINDER  245 

forecastle,  "in  order  to  learn  something  about  the  haven 
to  leeward.  We  take  it  for  granted  you  do  not  bear 
malice  so  hard  as  to  wish  to  drown  us  all,  especially  the 
women;  and  I  suppose  you  will  be  man  enough  to  help  us 
run  the  cutter  into  some  safe  berth  until  this  bit  of  a 
gale  has  done  blowing!" 

"I  would  die  myself  rather  than  harm  should  come  to 
Mabel  Dunham,"  the  young  man  earnestly  answered. 

"I  knew  it!  I  knew  it!"  cried  the  Pathfinder,  clap 
ping  his  hand  kindly  on  Jasper's  shoulder.  "The  lad  is  as 
true  as  the  best  compass  that  ever  ran  a  boundary,  or 
brought  a  man  off  from  a  blind  trail.  It  is  a  mortal  sin 
to  believe  otherwise. ' ' 

"Humph!"  ejaculated  Cap;  "especially  the  women! 
As  if  they  were  in  any  particular  danger.  Never  mind, 
young  man;  we  shall  understand  each  other  by  talking 
like  two  plain  seamen.  Do  you  know  of  any  port  under 
our  lee?" 

"None.  There  is  a  large  bay  at  this  end  of  the  lake; 
but  it  is  unknown  to  us  all;  and  not  easy  of  entrance." 

"And  this  coast  to  leeward — it  has  nothing  particular 
to  recommend  it,  I  suppose?" 

"It  is  a  wilderness  until  you  reach  the  mouth  of  the 
Niagara  in  one  direction,  and  Frontenac  in  the  other. 
North  and  west,  they  tell  me,  there  is  nothing  but  forest 
and  prairies  for  a  thousand  miles." 

"Thank  God!  then,  there  can  be  no  French.  Are  there 
many  savages,  hereaway,  on  the  land?" 

"The  Indians  are  to  be  found  in  all  directions;  though 
they  are  nowhere  very  numerous.  By  accident,  we  might 
find  a  party  at  any  point  on  the  shore;  or  we  might  pass 
months  there  without  seeing  one." 

"We  must  take  our  chance,  then,  as  to  the  blackguards; 
but,  to  be  frank  with  you,  Master  Western,  if  this  1 
unpleasant  matter  about  the  French  had  not  come  to  pass, 
what  would  you  now  do  with  the  cutter?" 

"I  am  a  much  younger  sailor  than  yourself,  Master 
Cap,"  said  Jasper  modestly,  "and  am  hardly  fitted  to 

advise  you. ' ' 

"Ay,  ay,  we  all  know  that.     In  a  common  case,  pei 
haps  not.    'But  this  is  an  uncommon  case,  and  a  circum- 


246  THE  PATHFINDER 

stance;  and  on  this  bit  of  fresh  water  it  has  what  may 
be  called  its  peculiarities;  and  so,  everything  considered, 
you  may  be  fitted  to  advise  even  your  own  father.  At  all 
events,  you  can  speak,  and  I  can  judge  of  your  opinions, 
agreeably  to  my  own  experience." 

"I  think,  sir,  before  two  hours  are  over,  the  cutter  will 
have  to  anchor." 

"Anchor! — not  out  here  in  the  lake?" 

"No,  sir;  but  in  yonder,  near  the  land." 

"You  do  not  mean  to  say,  Master  Eau-douce,  you  would 
anchor  on  a  lee  shore  in  a  gale  of  wind?" 

"If  I  would  save  my  vessel,  that  is  exactly  what  I  would 
do,  Master  Cap." 

' '  W he — e — e — w ! — thi  s  i  s  freshwater ,  w i  th  a  vengeance ! 
Hark'e,  young  man,  I've  been  a  seafaring  animal,  boy 
and  man,  forty-one  years,  and  I  never  yet  heard  of  such  a 
thing.  I'd  throw  my  ground-tackle  overboard  before  I 
would  be  guilty  of  so  lubberly  an  act!" 

"That  is  what  we  do  on  this  lake,"  modestly  replied 
Jasper,  "when  we  are  hard  pressed.  I  daresay  we  might 
do  better,  had  we  been  better  taught. ' ' 

"That  you  might,  indeed!  No;  no  man  induces  me  to 
commit  such  a  sin  against  my  own  bringing  up.  I  should 
never  dare  show  my  face  inside  of  Sandy  Hook  again,  had 
I  committed  so  know-nothing  an  exploit.  Why,  Path 
finder,  here,  has  more  seamanship  in  him  than  that  comes 
to.  You  can  go  below  again,  Master  Eau-douce." 

Jasper  quietly  bowed  and  withdrew;  still,  as  he  passed 
down  the  ladder,  the  spectators  observed  that  he  cast  a 
lingering  anxious  look  at  the  horizon  to  windward  and 
the  land  to  leeward,  and  then  disappeared  with  concern 
strongly  expressed  in  every  lineament  of  his  face. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

"  His  still  refuted  quirks  he  still  repeats ; 
Gew-raised  objections  with  new  quibbles  meets, 
Till  sinking-  in  the  quicksand  he  defends; 
He  dies  disputing,  and  the  contest  ends.  " 

—  COWPER. 

As  the  soldier's  wife  was  sick  in  her  berth,  Mabel 
Dunham  was  the  only  person  in  the  outer  cabin  when 
Jasper  returned  to  it;  for,  by  an  act  of  grace  in  the  ser 
geant,  he  had  been  permitted  to  resume  his  proper  place 
in  this  part  of  the  vessel.  We  should  be  ascribing  too 
much  simplicity  of  character  to  our  heroine,  if  we  said 
that  she  had  felt  no  distrust  of  the  young  man  in  conse 
quence  of  his  arrest;  but  we  should  also  be  doing  injustice 
to  her  warmth  of  feeling  and  generosity  of  disposition,  if 
we  did  not  add  that  this  distrust  was  insignificant  and 
transient.  As  he  now  took  his  seat  near  her,  his  whole 
countenance  clouded  with  the  uneasiness  he  felt  concern 
ing  the  situation  of  the  cutter,  everything  like  suspicion 
was  banished  from  her  mind,  and  she  saw  in  him  only  an 
injured  man. 

"You  let  this  affair  weigh  too  heavily  on  your  mind, 
Jasper,"  said  she  eagerly,  or  with  that  forgetfulness  of 
self  with  which  the  youthful  of  her  sex  are  wont  to  betray 
their  feelings  when  a  strong  and  generous  interest  has 
attained  the  ascendency;  "no  one  who  knows  you  can,  or 
does,  believe  you  guilty.  Pathfinder  says  he  will  pledge 
his  life  for  you." 

"Then  you,  Mabel,"  returned  the  youth,  his  eyes  flash 
ing  fire,  "do  not  look  upon  me  as  the  traitor  your  father 
seems  to  believe  me  to  be?" 

"My  dear  father  is  a  soldier,  and  is  obliged  to  act  as 
one.  My  father's  daughter  is  not,  and  will  think  of  you 
as  she  ought  to  think  of  a  man  who  has  done  so  much  to 
serve  her  already." 

"Mabel,  I'm  not  used  to  talking  with  one  like  you,  or 
saying  all  I  1'iink  and  feel  with  any.  I  never  had  a  sister, 

247 


248  THE  PATHFINDER 

and  my  mother  died  when  I  was  a  child,  so  that  I  know 
little  what  your  sex  most  likes  to  hear — 

Mabel  would  have  given  the  world  to  know  what  lay 
behind  the  teeming  word  at  which  Jasper  hesitated;  but 
the  indefinable  and  controlling  sense  of  womanly  diffidence 
made  her  suppress  her  curiosity.  She  waited  in  silence 
for  him  to  explain  his  own  meaning. 

"I  wish  to  say,  Mabel,"  the  young  man  continued,  after 
a  pause  which  he  found  sufficiently  embarrassing,  ''that  I 
am  unused  to  the  ways  and  opinions  of  one  like  you,  and 
that  you  must  imagine  all  I  would  add." 

Mabel  had  imagination  enough  to  fancy  anything,  but 
there  are  ideas  and  feelings  that  her  sex  prefer  to  have 
expressed  before  they  yield  them  all  their  own  sympa 
thies,  and  she  had  a  vague  consciousness  that  these  of 
Jasper  might  properly  be  enumerated  in  the  class.  With 
a  readiness  that  belonged  to  her  sex,  therefore,  she  pre 
ferred  changing  the  discourse  to  permitting  it  to  proceed 
any  further  in  a  manner  so  awkward  and  so  unsatisfactory. 

"Tell  me  one  thing,  Jasper,  and  I  shall  be  content," 
said  she,  speaking  now  with  a  firmness  which  denoted 
confidence,  not  only  in  herself,  but  in  her  companion; 
"you  do  not  deserve  this  cruel  suspicion  which  rests  upon 
you?" 

"I  do  not,  Mabel!"  answered  Jasper,  looking  into  her 
full  blue  eyes  with  an  openness  and  simplicity  that  might 
have  shaken  stronger  distrust.  "As  I  hope  for  mercy 
hereafter,  I  do  not!" 

"I  knew  it — I  could  have  sworn  it!"  returned  the  girl 
warmly.  "And  yet  my  father  means  well — but  do  not  let 
this  matter  disturb  you,  Jasper." 

"There  is  so  much  more  to  apprehend  from  another 
quarter  just  now,  that  I  scarcely  think  of  it." 

"Jasper!" 

"I  do  not  wish  to  alarm  you,  Mabel;  but  if  your  uncle 
could  be  persuaded  to  change  his  notions  about  handling 
the  Scud;  and  yet  he  is  so  much  more  experienced  than 
I  am,  that  he  ought,  perhaps,  to  place  more  reliance  on 
his  own  judgment  than  on  mine." 

"Do  you  think  the  cutter  in  any  danger?"  demanded 
Mabel,  quick  as  thought. 


THE  PATHFINDER  249 

"I  fear  so;  at  least  she  would  have  been  thought  in 
great  danger  by  us  of  the  lake;  perhaps  an  old  seaman  of 
the  ocean  may  have  means  of  his  own  to  take  care  of 
her." 

"Jasper,  all  agree  in  giving  you  credit  for  skill  in 
managing  the  Scud.  You  know  the  lake,  you  know  the 
cutter;  you  must  be  the  best  judge  of  our  real  situation." 

"My  concern  for  you,  Mabel,  may  make  me  more  cow 
ardly  than  common;  but,  to  be  frank,  I  see  but  one  method 
of  keeping  the  cutter  from  being  wrecked  in  the  course 
of  the  next  two  or  three  hours,  and  that  your  uncle  refuses 
to  take.  After  all,  this  may  be  my  ignorance;  for,  as  he 
says,  Ontario  is  merely  fresh  water." 

"You  cannot  believe  this  will  make  any  difference. 
Think  of  rny  dear  father,  Jasper!  Think  of  yourself;  of 
all  the  lives  that  depend  on  a  timely  word  from  you  to 
save  them." 

"I  think  of  you,  Mabel,  and  that  is  more,  much  more, 
than  all  the  rest  put  together!"  returned  the  young  man, 
with  a  strength  of  expression  and  an  earnestness  of  look 
that  uttered  infinitely  more  than  the  words  themselves. 

Mabel's  heart  beat  quickly,  and  a  gleam  of  grateful 
satisfaction  shot  across  her  blushing  features;  but  the 
alarm  was  too  vivid  and  too  serious  to  admit  of  much 
relief  from  happier  thoughts.  She  did  not  attempt  to 
repress  a  look  of  gratitude,  and  then  she  returned  to  the 
feeling  which  was  naturally  uppermost. 

"My  uncle's  obstinacy  must  not  be  permitted  to  occa 
sion  this  disaster.  Go  once  more  on  deck,  Jasper;  and 
ask  my  father  to  come  into  the  cabin." 

While  the  young  man  was  complying  with  this  request, 
Mabel  sat  listening  to  the  howling  of  the  storm  and  the 
dashing  of  the  water  against  the  cutter,  in  a  dread  to 
which  she  had  hitherto  been  a  stranger.  Constitutionally 
an  excellent  sailor,  as  the  term  is  used  among  passengers, 
she  had  not  hitherto  bethought  her  of  any  danrer,  and 
had  passed  her  time  since  the  commencement  of  the  gale 
in  such  womanly  employment  as  her  situation  allowed; 
but  now  that  alarm  was  seriously  awakened,  she  did  not 
fail  to  perceive  that  never  before  had  she  been  on  the 
water  in  such  a  tempest.  The  minute  or  two  which 


250  THE  PATHFINDER 

elapsed  before  the  sergeant  came  appeared  an  hour,  and 
she  scarcely  breathed  when  she  saw  him  and  Jasper  descend 
ing  the  ladder  in  company.  Quick  as  language  could 
express  her  meaning,  she  acquainted  her  father  with 
Jasper's  opinion  of  their  situation;  and  entreated  him,  if 
he  loved  her,  or  had  any  regard  for  his  own  life,  or  for 
those  of  his  men,  to  interfere  with  her  uncle,  and  to 
induce  him  to  yield  the  control  of  the  cutter  again  to  its 
proper  commander. 

"Jasper  is  true,  father,"  added  she  earnestly;  "and  if 
false,  he  could  have  no  motive  in  wrecking  us  in  this 
distant  part  of  the  lake  at  the  risk  of  all  our  lives,  his 
own  included.  I  will  pledge  my  own  life  for  his  truth." 

"Ay,  this  is  well  enough  for  a  young  woman  who  is 
frightened,"  answered  the  more  phlegmatic  parent;  "but 
it  might  not  be  so  excusable  in  one  in  command  of  an 
expedition.  Jasper  may  think  the  chance  of  drowning  in 
getting  ashore  fully  repaid  by  the  chance  of  escaping  as 
soon  as  he  reaches  the  land." 

' '  Sergeant  Dunham ! ' ' 

"Father!" 

These  exclamations  were  made  simultaneously,  but  they 
were  uttered  in  tones  expressive  of  different  feelings.  In 
Jasper,  surprise  was  the  emotion  uppermost;  in  Mabel, 
reproach.  The  old  soldier,  however,  was  too  much  accus 
tomed  to  deal  frankly  with  subordinates  to  heed  either; 
and  after  a  moment's  thought,  he  continued  as  if  neither 
had  spoken.  "Nor  is  brother  Cap  a  man  likely  to  submit 
to  be  taught  his  duty  on  board  a  vessel." 

"But,  father,  when  all  our  lives  are  in  the  utmost 
jeopardy!" 

"So  much  the  worse.  The  fair-weather  commander  is 
no  great  matter;  it  is  when  things  go  wrong  that  the  best 
officer  shows  himself  in  his  true  colors.  Charles  Cap  will 
not  be  likely  to  quit  the  helm  because  the  ship  is  in 
danger.  Besides,  Jasper  Eau-douce,  he  says  your  proposal 
in  itself  has  a  suspicious  air  about  it,  and  sounds  more 
like  treachery  than  reason." 

"He  may  think  so;  but  let  him  send  for  the  pilot  and 
hear  his  opinion.  It  is  well  known  that  I  have  not  seen 
the  man  since  yesterday  evening." 


THE  PATHFINDER  251 

"This  does  sound  reasonably,  and  the  experiment  shall 
be  tried.  Follow  me  on  deck  then,  that  all  may  be  honest 
and  above-aboard." 

Jasper  obeyed,  and  so  keen  was  the  interest  of  Mabel, 
that  she  too  ventured  as  far  as  the  companionway,  where 
her  garments  were  sufficiently  protected  against  the  vio 
lence  of  the  wind  and  her  person  from  the  spray.  Here 
maiden  modesty  induced  her  to  remain,  though  an  absorbed 
witness  of  what  was  passing. 

The  pilot  soon  appeared,  and  there  was  no  mistaking 
the  look  of  concern  that  he  cast  around  at  the  scene  as 
soon  as  he  was  in  the  open  air.  Some  rumors  of  the  sit 
uation  of  the  Scud  had  found  their  way  below,  it  is  true; 
but  in  this  instance  rumor  had  lessened  instead  of  mag 
nified  the  danger.  He  was  allowed  a  few  minutes  to 
look  about  him,  and  then  the  question  was  put  as  to  the 
course  which  he  thought  it  prudent  to  follow. 

"I  see  no  means  of  saving  the  cutter  but  to  anchor," 
he  answered  simply,  and  without  hesitation. 

"What!  out  here  in  the  lake?"  inquired  Cap,  as  he  had 
previously  done  of  Jasper. 

"No;  but  closer  in;  just  at  the  outer  line  of  the 
breakers. ' ' 

The  effect  of  this  communication  was  to  leave  no  doubt 
in  the  mind  of  Cap  that  there  was  a  secret  arrangement 
between  her  commander  and  the  pilot  to  cast  away  the 
Scud;  most  probably  with  the  hope  of  effecting  their 
escape.  He  consequently  treated  the  opinion  of  the  latter 
with  the  indifference  he  had  manifested  towards  that  of 
the  former. 

"I  tell  you,  brother  Dunham,"  said  he,  in  answer  to 
the  remonstrances  of  the  sergeant  against  his  turning  a 
deaf  ear  to  this  double  representation,  "that  no  seaman 
would  give  such  an  opinion  honestly.  To  anchor  on  a  lee 
shore  in  a  gale  of  wind  would  be  an  act  of  madness  that 
I  could  never  excuse  to  the  underwriters,  under  any  cir 
cumstances,  so  long  as  a  rag  can  be  set;  but  to  anchor 
close  to  breakers  would  be  insanity." 

"His  Majesty  underwrites  the  Scud,  brother,  and  I  am 
responsible  for  the  lives  of  my  command.  These  men  are 
better  acquainted  with  Lake  Ontario  than  we  can  possibly 


252  THE  PATHFINDER 

be,  and  I  do  think  their  telling  the  same  tale  entitles  them 
to  some  credit. ' ' 

"Uncle!"  said  Mabel  earnestly;  but  a  gesture  from 
Jasper  induced  the  girl  to  restrain  her  feelings. 

"We  are  drifting  down  upon  the  breakers  so  rapidly," 
said  the  young  man,  "that  little  need  be  said  on  the  sub 
ject.  Half  an  hour  must  settle  the  matter,  one  way  or  the 
other;  but  I  warn  Master  Cap  that  the  surest-footed  man 
among  us  will  not  be  able  to  keep  his  feet  an  instant  on 
the  deck  of  this  low  craft,  should  she  fairly  get  within 
them.  Indeed,  I  make  little  doubt  that  we  shall  fill  and 
founder  before  the  second  line  of  rollers  is  passed." 

'  'And  how  would  anchoring  help  the  matter?"  demanded 
Cap  furiously,  as  if  he  felt  that  Jasper  was  responsible 
for  the  effects  of  the  gale,  as  well  as  for  the  opinion  he 
had  just  given. 

"It  would  at  least  do  no  harm,"  Eau-douce  mildly  re 
plied.  "By  bringing  the  cutter  head  to  sea  we  should 
lessen  her  drift;  and  even  if  we  dragged  through  the 
breakers,  it  would  be  with  the  least  possible  danger.  I 
hope,  Master  Cap,  you  will  allow  the  pilot  and  myself  to 
prepare  for  anchoring,  since  the  precaution  may  do  good, 
and  can  do  no  harm." 

"Overhaul  your  ranges,  if  you  will,  and  get  your  an 
chors  clear,  with  all  my  heart.  We  are  now  in  a  situation 
that  cannot  be  much  affected  by  anything  of  that  sort. 
Sergeant,  a  word  with  you  aft  here,  if  you  please." 

Cap  led  his  brother-in-law  out  of  earshot;  and  then, 
with  more  of  human  feeling  in  his  voice  and  manner  than 
he  was  apt  to  exhibit,  he  opened  his  heart  on  the  subject 
of  their  real  situation. 

"This  is  a  melancholy  affair  for  poor  Mabel,"  said  he, 
blowing  his  nose,  and  speaking  with  a  slight  tremor. 

"You  and  I,  sergeant,  are  old  fellows,  and  used  to  being 
near  death,  if  not  to  actually  dying;  our  trades  fit  us  for 
such  scenes;  but  poor  Mabel — she  is  an  affectionate  and 
kind-hearted  girl,  and  I  had  hoped  to  see  her  comfortably 
settled,  and  a  mother,  before  my  time  came.  Well,  well-! 
we  must  take  the  bad  with  the  good  in  every  v'y'ge;  and 
the  only  serious  objection  that  an  old  seafaring  man  can 
with  propriety  make  to  such  an  event  is,  that  it  should 
happen  on  this  bit  of  d d  fresh  water." 


THE  PATHFINDER  253 

Sergeant  Dunham  was  a  brave  man,  and  had  shown  his 
spirit  in  scenes  that  looked  much  more  appalling  than 
this;  but  on  all  such  occasions  he  had  been  able  to  act  his 
part  against  his  foes,  while  here  he  was  pressed  upon  by 
an  enemy  whom  he  had  no  means  of  resisting.  For  him 
self  he  cared  far  less  than  for  his  daughter,  feeling  some 
of  that  self-reliance  which  seldom  deserts  a  man  of  firm 
ness  who  is  in  vigorous  health,  and  who  has  been  accus 
tomed  to  personal  exertions  in  moments  of  jeopardy;  but 
as  respects  Mabel  he  saw  no  means  of  escape,  and,  with  a 
father's  fondness,  he  at  once  determined  that,  if  either 
was  doomed  to  perish,  he  and  his  daughter  must  perish 
together. 

"Do  you  think  this  must  come  to  pass?"  he  asked  of 
Cap  firmly,  but  with  strong  feeling. 

"Twenty  minutes  will  carry  us  into  the  breakers;  and 
look  for  yourself,  sergeant;  what  chance  will  even  the 
stoutest  man  among  us  have  in  that  caldron  to  leeward?" 

The  prospect  was,  indeed,  little  calculated  to  encourage 
hope.  By  this  time  the  Scud  was  within  a  mile  of  the 
shore,  on  which  the  gale  was  blowing  at  right  angles, 
with  a  violence  that  forbade  the  idea  of  showing  any  ad 
ditional  canvas  with  a  view  to  claw  off.  The  small  portion 
of  the  mainsail  actually  set,  and  which  merely  served  to 
keep  the  head  of  the  Scud  so  near  the  wind  as  to  prevent 
the  waves  from  breaking  over  her,  quivered  under  the 
gusts,  as  if  at  each  moment  the  stout  threads  which  held 
the  complicated  fabric  together  were  about  to  be  torn 
asunder.  The  drizzle  had  ceased;  but  the  air,  for  a  hun 
dred  feet  above  the  surface  of  the  lake,  was  filled  with 
dazzling  spray,  which  had  an  appearance  not  unlike  that 
of  a  brilliant  mist,  while  above  all  the  sun  was  shining 
gloriously  in  a  cloudless  sky.  Jasper  had  noted  the  omen, 
and  had  foretold  that  it  announced  a  speedy  termination 
to  the  gale,  though  the  next  hour  or  two  must  decide  their 
fate.  Between  the  cutter  and  the  shore  the  view  was  still 
more  wild  and  appalling.  The  breakers  extended  nearly 
half  a  mile;  while  the  water  within  their  line  was  white 
with  foam,  the  air  above  them  wras  so  far  filled  with  vapor 
and  spray  as  to  render  the  land  beyond  hazy  and  indis 
tinct.  Still  it  could  be  seen  that  the  latter  was  high— not 


254  THE  PATHFINDER 

a  usual  thing  for  the  shores  of  Ontario — and  that  it  was 
covered  with  the  verdant  mantle  of  the  interminable  forest. 
While  the  sergeant  and  Cap  were  gazing  at  this  scene 
in  silence,  Jasper  and  his  people  were  actively  engaged  on 
the  forecastle.  No  sooner  had  the  young  man  received 
permission  to  resume  his  old  employment,  than,  appeal 
ing  to  some  of  the  soldiers  for  aid,  he  mustered  five  or  six 
assistants,  and  set  about  in  earnest  the  performance  of  a 
duty  which  had  been  too  long  delayed.  On  these  narrow 
waters  anchors  are  never  stowed  in-board,  or  cables  that 
are  intended  for  service  unbent,  and  Jasper  was  saved 
much  of  the  labor  that  would  have  been  necessary  in  a 
vessel  at  sea.  The  two  bowers  were  soon  ready  to  be  let 
go,  ranges  of  the  cables  were  overhauled,  and  then  the 
party  paused  to  look  about  them.  No  changes  for  the 
better  had  occurred,  but  the  cutter  was  falling  slowly  in, 
and  each  instant  rendered  it  more  certain  that  she  could 
not  gain  an  inch  to  windward. 

One  long,  earnest  survey  of  the  lake  ended,  Jasper  gave 
new  orders  in  a  similar  manner  to  prove  how  much  he 
thought  that  the  time  pressed.  Two  kedges  were  got  on 
deck,  and  hawsers  were  bent  to  them;  the  inner  ends  of 
the  hawsers  were  bent,  in  their  turns,  to  the  crowns  of 
the  anchors,  and  everything  was  got  ready  to  throw  them 
overboard  at  the  proper  moment.  These  preparations 
completed,  Jasper's  manner  changed  from  the  excitement 
of  exertion  to  a  look  of  calm  but  settled  concern.  He 
quitted  the  forecastle,  where  the  seas  were  dashing  in 
board  at  every  plunge  of  the  vessel,  the  duty  just  men 
tioned  having  been  executed  with  the  bodies  of  the  crew 
frequently  buried  in  the  water,  and  walked,  to  a  drier 
part  of  the  deck,  aft.  Here  he  was  met  by  the  Pathfinder, 
who  was  standing  near  Mabel  and  the  quartermaster. 
Most  of  those  on  board,  with  the  exception  of  the  individ 
uals  who  have  already  been  particularly  mentioned,  were 
below,  some  seeking  relief  from  physical  suffering  on 
their  pallets,  and  others  tardily  bethinking  them  of  their 
sins.  For  the  first  time,  most  probably,  since  her  keel 
had  dipped  into  the  limpid  waters  of  Ontario,  the  voice 
of  prayer  was  heard  on  board  the  Scud. 

"Jasper,"  commenced  his  friend,  the  guide,  "I  have 


THE  PATHFINDER  255 

been  of  no  use  this  morning,  for  my  gifts  are  of  little 
account,  as  you  know,  in  a  vessel  like  this;  but,  should  it 
please  God  to  let  the  sergeant's  daughter  reach  the  shore 
alive,  my  acquaintance  with  the  forest  may  still  carry  her 
through  in  safety  to  the  garrison." 

'Tis  a  fearful  distance  thither,  Pathfinder!"  Mabel 
rejoined,  the  party  being  so  near  together  that  all  which 
was  said  by  one  was  overheard  by  the  others.  "lam 
afraid  none  of  us  could  live  to  reach  the  fort." 

"It  would  be  a  risky  path,  Mabel,  and  a  crooked  one; 
though  some  of  your  sex  have  undergone  even  more  than 
that  in  this  wilderness.  But,  Jasper,  either  you  or  I,  or 
both  of  us,  must  man  this  bark  canoe;  Mabel's  only  chance 
will  lie  in  getting  through  the  breakers  in  that." 

"I  would  willingly  man  anything  to  save  Mabel,"  an 
swered  Jasper,  with  a  melancholy  smile;  "but  no  human 
hand,  Pathfinder,  could  carry  that  canoe  through  yonder 
breakers  in  a  gale  like  this.  I  have  hopes  from  anchor 
ing,  after  all;  for  once  before  have  we  saved  the  Scud  in 
an  extremity  nearly  as  great  as  this." 

"If  we  are  to  anchor,  Jasper,"  the  sergeant  inquired, 
"why  not  do  it  at  once?  Every  foot  we  lose  in  drifting 
now  would  come  into  the  distance  we  shall  probably  drag 
when  the  anchors  are  let  go. ' ' 

Jasper  drew  nearer  to  the  sergeant,  and  took  his  hand, 
pressing  it  earnestly,  and  in  a  way  to  denote  strong,  almost 
uncontrollable  feelings. 

"Sergeant  Dunham,"  said  he  solemnly,  "you  are  a 
good  man,  though  you  have  treated  me  harshly  in  this 
business.  You  love  your  daughter?" 

"That  you  cannot  doubt,  Eau-douce,"  returned  the  ser 
geant  huskily. 

"Will  you  give  her— give  us  all — the  only  chance  for 
life  that  is  left?" 

"What  would  you  have  me  do,  boy,  what  would  you 
have  me  do?  I  have  acted  according  to  my  judgment 
hitherto — what  would  you  have  me  do?" 

"Support  me  against  Master  Cap  for  five  minutes,  and 
all  that  man  can  do  towards  saving  the  Scud  shall  be 
done." 

The  sergeant  hesitated,  for  he  was  too  much  of  a  du 


256  THE  PATHFINDER 

ciplinarian  to  fly  in  the  face  of  regular  orders.  He  dis 
liked  the  appearance  of  vacillation,  too;  and  then  he  had 
a  profound  respect  for  his  kinsman's  seamanship.  While 
he  was  deliberating,  Cap  came  from  the  post  he  had  some 
time  occupied,  which  was  at  the  side  of  the  man  at  the 
helm,  and  drew  nigh  the  group. 

"Master  Eau-douce, "  said  he,  as  soon  as  near  enough 
to  be  heard,  "I  have  come  to  inquire  if  you  know  any  spot 
near  by  where  this  cutter  can  be  beached?  The  moment 
has  arrived  when  we  are  driven  to  this  hard  alternative." 

That  instant  of  indecision  on  the  part  of  Cap  secured  the 
triumph  of  Jasper.  Looking  at  the  sergeant,  the  young 
man  received  a  nod  that  assured  him  of  all  he  asked,  and 
he  lost  not  one  of  those  moments  that  were  getting  to  be 
so  very  precious. 

"Shall  I  take  the  helm,"  he  inquired  of  Cap,  "and  see 
if  we  can  reach  a  creek  that  lies  to  leeward?" 

"Do  so,  do  so,"  said  the  other,  hemming  to  clear  his 
throat;  for  he  felt  oppressed  by  a  responsibility  that 
weighed  all  the  heavier  on  his  shoulders  on  account  of  his 
ignorance.  "Do  so,  Eau-douce,  since,  to  be  frank  with 
you,  I  can  see  nothing  better  to  be  done.  We  must  beach 
or  swamp." 

Jasper  required  no  more;  springing  aft,  he  soon  had  the 
tiller  in  his  own  hands.  The  pilot  was  prepared  for  what 
was  to  follow;  and,  at  a  sign  from  his  young  commander, 
the  rag  of  sail  that  had  so  long  been  set  was  taken  in.  At 
that  moment,  Jasper,  watching  his  time,  put  the  helm  up; 
the  head  of  a  staysail  was  loosened  forward,  and  the  light 
cutter,  as  if  conscious  she  was  now  under  the  control  of 
familiar  hands,  fell  off,  and  was  soon  in  the  trough  of  the 
sea.  This  perilous  instant  was  passed  in  safety,  and  at 
the  next  moment  the  little  vessel  appeared  flying  down 
toward  the  breakers  at  a  rate  that  threatened  instant  de 
struction.  The  distances  had  become  so  short,  that  five  or 
six  minutes  sufficed  for  all  that  Jasper  wished,  and  he  put 
the  helm  down  again,  when  the  bows  of  the  Scud  came  up 
to  the  wind,  notwithstanding  the  turbulence  of  the  waters, 
as  gracefully  as  the  duck  varies  its  line  of  direction  on  the 
glassy  pond.  A  sign  from  Jasper  set  all  in  motion  on 
the  forecastle,  and  a  kedge  was  thrown  from  each  bow. 


THE  PATHFINDER  257 

The  fearful  nature  of  the  drift  was  now  apparent  even  to 
Mabel  s  eyes,  for  the  two  hawsers  ran  out  like  tow-lines 
As  soon  as  they  straightened  to  a  slight  strain,  both 
anchors  were  let  go,  and  cable  was  given  to  each,  nearly 
to  the  better-ends.  It  was  not  a  difficult  task  to  snub  so 
light  a  craft  with  ground-tackle  of  a  quality  better  than 
common;  and  in  less  than  ten  minutes  from  the  moment 
when  Jasper  went  to  the  helm,  the  Scud  was  riding,  head 
to  sea,  with  the  two  cables  stretched  ahead  in  lines  that 
resembled  bars  of  iron. 

"This  is  not  well  done,  Master  Jasper!"  angrily  ex 
claimed  Cap,  as  soon  as  he  perceived  the  trick  which  had 
been  played  him;  "this  is  not  well  done,  sir.  I  order  you 
to  cut,  and  to  beach  the  cutter  without  a  moment's  delay. ' ' 
No  one,  however,  seemed  disposed  to  comply  with  this 
order;  for  so  long  as  Eau-douce  saw  fit  to  command,  his 
own  people  were  disposed  to  obey.  Finding  that  the  men 
remained  passive,  Cap,  who  believed  they  were  in  the 
utmost  peril,  turned  fiercely  to  Jasper,  and  renewed  his 
remonstrances. 

"You  did  not  head  for  your  pretended  creek,"  added 
he,  after  dealing  in  some  objurgatory  remarks  that  we  do 
not  deem  it  necessary  to  record,  "but  steered  for  that 
bluff,  where  every  soul  on  board  would  have  been  drowned, 
had  we  gone  ashore. ' ' 

"And  you  wish  to  cut,  and  put  every  soul  ashore  at 
that  very  spot!"  Jasper  retorted,  a  little  drily. 

"Throw  alead-line  overboard,  and  ascertain  the  drift!" 
Cap  now  roared  to  the  people  forward.  A  sign  from  Jas 
per  sustaining  this  order,  it  was  instantly  obeyed.  All  on 
deck  watched,  with  nearly  breathless  interest,  the  result 
of  the  experiment.  The  lead  was  no  sooner  on  the  bottom, 
than  the  line  tended  forward,  and  in  about  two  minutes 
it  was  seen  that  the  cutter  had  drifted  her  length  dead  in 
towards  the  bluff.  Jasper  looked  gravely,  for  he  well 
knew  nothing  would  hold  the  vessel  did  she  get  within  the 
vortex  of  the  breakers,  the  first  line  of  which  was  appear 
ing  and  disappearing  about  a  cable's  length  directly  under 
their  stern. 

"Traitor!"    exclaimed    Cap,    shaking  a  finger  at  the 
young  commander,  though  passion  choked  the  rest.     "You 
17 


258  THE  PATHFINDER 

must  answer  for  this  with  your  life!"  he  added  after  a 
short  pause.  "If  I  were  at  the  head  of  this  expedition, 
sergeant,  I  would  hang  him  at  the  end  of  the  main-boom, 
lest  he  escape  drowning. ' ' 

"Moderate  your  feelings,  brother;  be  more  moderate, 
I  beseech  you;  Jasper  appears  to  have  done  all  for  the 
best,  and  matters  may  not  be  so  bad  as  you  believe  them." 

"Why  did  he  not  run  for  the  creek  he  mentioned?  why 
has  he  brought  us  here,  dead  to  windward  of  that  bluff, 
and  to  a  spot  where  even  the  breakers  are  only  of 'half 
the  ordinary  width,  as  if  in  a  hurry  to  drown  all  on 
board?" 

"I  headed  for  the  bluff,  for  the  precise  reason  that  the 
breakers  are  so  narrow  at  this  spot,"  answered  Jasper 
mildly,  though  his  gorge  had  risen  at  the  language  the 
other  held. 

"Do  you  mean  to  tell  an  old  seaman  like  me  that  this 
cutter  could  live  in  those  breakers?" 

"I  do  not,  sir.  I  think  she  would  fill  and  swamp  if 
driven  into  the  first  line  of  them;  I  am  certain  she  would 
never  reach  the  shore  on  her  bottom,  if  fairly  entered.  I 
hope  to  keep  her  clear  of  them  altogether." 

"With  a  drift  of  her  length  in  a  minute?" 

"The  backing  of  the  anchors  does  not  yet  fairly  tell, 
nor  do  I  even  hope  that  they  will  entirely  bring  her  up." 

"On  what,  then,  do  you  rely?  To  moor  a  craft,  head 
and  stern,  by  faith,  hope,  and  charity?" 

"No,  sir,  I  trust  to  the  undertow.  I  headed  for  the 
bluff  because  I  knew  that  it  was  stronger  at  that  point 
than  at  any  other,  and  because  we  could  get  nearer  in  with 
the  land  without  entering  the  breakers." 

This  was  said  with  spirit,  though  without  any  particu 
lar  show  of  resentment.  Its  effect  on  Cap  was  marked, 
the  feeling  that  was  uppermost  being  evidently  that  of 
surprise. 

"Undertow!"  he  repeated;  "who  the  devil  ever  heard 
of  saving  a  vessel  from  going  ashore  by  the  undertow?" 

"This  may  never  happen  on  the  ocean,  sir,"  Jasper  an 
swered  modestly;  "but  we  have  known  it  to  happen  here." 

"The  lad  is  right,  brother,"  put  in  the  sergeant;  "for, 
though  I  do  not  well  understand  it,  I  have  often  heard  the 


THE  PATHFINDER  259 

sailors  of  the  lake  speak  of  such  a  thing.  We  shall  do  well 
to  trust  to  Jasper  in  this  strait." 

Cap  grumbled  and  swore;  but,  as  there  was  no  remedy, 
he  was  compelled  to  acquiesce.  Jasper,  being  now  called 
on  to  explain  what  he  meant  by  the  undertow,  gave  this 
account  of  the  matter.  The  water  that  was  driven  up  on 
the  shore  by  the  gale  was  necessarily  compelled  to  find  its 
level  by  returning  to  the  lake  by  some  secret  channels. 
This  could  not  be  done  on  the  surface,  where  both  wind 
and  waves  were  constantly  urging  it  towards  the  land  and 
it  necessarily  formed  a  sort  of  lower  eddy,  by  means  of 
which  it  flowed  back  again  to  its  ancient  and  proper  bed. 
This  inferior  current  had  received  the  name  of  the  under 
tow,  and,  as  it  would  necessarily  act  on  the  bottom  of  a 
vessel,  which  drew  as  much  water  as  the  Scud,  Jasper 
trusted  to  the  aid  of  this  reaction  to  keep  his  cables  from 
parting.  In  short,  the  upper  and  lower  currents  would, 
in  a  manner,  counteract  each  other. 

Simple  and  ingenious  as  was  this  theory,  however,  as  yet 
there  was  little  evidence  of  its  being  reduced  to  practise. 
The  drift  continued;  though,  as  the  kedges  and  hawsers 
with  which  the  anchors  were  backed  took  the  strains,  it 
became  sensibly  less.  At  length  the  man  at  the  lead  an 
nounced  the  joyful  intelligence  that  the  anchors  had  ceased 
to  drag,  and  that  the  vessel  had  brought  up!  At  this  pre 
cise  moment  the  first  line  of  breakers  was  about  a  hundred 
feet  astern  of  the  Scud,  even  appearing  to  approach  much 
nearer  as  the  foam  vanished  and  returned  on  the  raging 
surges.  Jasper  sprang  forward,  and,  casting  a  glance 
over  the  bows,  he  smiled  in  triumph,  as  he  pointed  exult- 
ingly  to  the  cables.  Instead  of  resembling  bars  of  iron 
in  rigidity,  as  before  they  were  curving  downwards,  and 
to  a  seaman's  senses  it  was  evident  that  the  cutter  rose 
and  fell  on  the  seas  as  they  came  in  with  the  ease  of  a  ship 
in  a  tideway,  when  the  power  of  the  wind  is  relieved  by 
the  counteracting  pressure  of  the  water. 

"  'Tis  the  undertow !"  he  exclaimed  with  delight,  fairly 
bounding  along  the  deck  to  steady  the  helm,  in  order  that 
the  cutter  might  ride  still  easier.  "Providence  has  placed 
us  directly  in  its  current,  and  there  is  no  longer  any 
danger. ' ' 


260  THE  PATHFINDER 

"Ay,  ay,  Providence  is  a  good  seaman,"  growled  Cap, 
"and  often  helps  lubbers  out  of  difficulty.  Undertow  or 
uppertow,  the  gale  has  abated;  and,  fortunately  for  us 
all,  the  anchors  have  met  with  good  holding-ground.  Then 
this  d d  fresh  water  has  an  unnatural  way  with  it." 

Men  are  seldom  inclined  to  quarrel  with  good  fortune, 
but  it  is  in  distress  that  they  grow  clamorous  and  critical. 
Most  on  board  were  disposed  to  believe  that  they  had  been 
saved  from  shipwreck  by  the  skill  and  knowledge  of  Jas 
per,  without  regarding  the  opinions  of  Cap,  whose  re 
marks  were  now  little  heeded. 

There  was  half  an  hour  of  uncertainty  and  doubt,  it  is 
true,  during  which  period  the  lead  was  anxiously  watched; 
and  then  a  feeling  of  security  came  over  all,  and  the  weary 
slept  without  dreaming  of  instant  death. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

'  It  is  to  be  all  made  of  sighs  and  tears  ; 
It  is  to  be  all  made  of  faith  and  service ; 
It  is  to  be  all  made  of  phantasy ; 
All  made  of  passion,  and  all  made  of  wishes  ; 
All  adoration  duty,  and  observance ; 
All  humbleness,  all  patience,  and  impatience ; 
All  purity,  all  trial,  all  observance." 

—SHAKESPEARE. 

IT  was  near  noon  when  the  gale  broke;  and  then  its 
force  abated  as  suddenly  as  its  violence  had  arisen.  In 
less  than  two  hours  after  the  wind  fell,  the  surface  of  the 
lake,  though  still  agitated,  was  no  longer  glittering  with 
foam;  and  in  double  that  time,  the  entire  sheet  presented 
the  ordinary  scene  of  disturbed  water,  that  was  unbroken 
by  the  violence  of  a  tempest.  Still  the  waves  came  rolling 
incessantly  towards  the  shore,  and  the  lines  of  breakers 
remained,  though  the  spray  had  ceased  to  fly;  the  comb 
ing  of  the  swells  was  more  moderate,  and  all  that  there 
was  of  violence  proceeded  from  the  impulsion  of  wind 
which  had  abated. 

As  it  was  impossible  to  make  head  against  the  sea  that 
was  still  up,  with  the  light  opposing  air  that  blew  from 
the  eastward,  all  thoughts  of  getting  under  way  that  after 
noon  were  abandoned.  Jasper,  who  had  now  quietly  re 
sumed  the  command  of  the  Scud,  busied  himself,  however, 
in  heaving-up  the  anchors,  which  were  lifted  in  succession; 
the  kedges  that  backed  them  were  weighed,  and  everything 
was  got  in  readiness  for  a  prompt  departure,  as  soon  as 
the  state  of  the  weather  would  allow.  In  the  meantime, 
they  who  had  no  concern  with  these  duties  sought  such 
means  of  amusement  as  their  peculiar  circumstances  al 
lowed. 

As  is  common  with  those  who  are  unused  to  the  confine 
ment  of  a  vessel,  Mabel  cast  wistful  eyes  towards  the 
shore;  nor  was  it  long  before  she  expressed  a  wish  that  it 
were  possible  to  land.  The  Pathfinder  was  near  her  at  the 
time,  and  he  assured  her  that  nothing  would  be  easier,  as 

2G1 


262  THE  PATHFINDER 

they  had  a  bark  canoe  on  deck,  which  was  the  best  possible 
mode  of  conveyance  to  go  through  a  surf.  After  the  usual 
doubts  and  misgivings,  the  sergeant  was  appealed  to;  his 
opinion  proved  to  be  favorable,  and  preparations  to  carry 
the  whim  into  effect  were  immediately  made. 

The  party  which  was  to  land  consisted  of  Sergeant  Dun 
ham,  his  daughter,  and  the  Pathfinder.  Accustomed  to 
the  canoe,  Mabel  took  her  seat  in  the  center  with  great 
steadiness,  her  father  was  placed  in  the  bows,  while  the 
guide  assumed  the  office  of  conductor,  by  steering  in  the 
stern.  There  was  little  need  of  impelling  the  canoe  by 
means  of  the  paddle,  for  the  rollers  sent  it  forward  at 
moments  with  a  violence  that  set  every  effort  to  govern 
its  movements  at  defiance.  More  than  once,  before  the 
shore  was  reached,  Mabel  repented  of  her  temerity,  but 
Pathfinder  encouraged  her,  and  really  manifested  so  much 
self-possession,  coolness,  and  strength  of  arm  himself,  that 
even  a  female  might  have  hesitated  about  owning  all  her 
apprehension.  Our  heroine  was  no  coward; and  while  she 
felt  the  novelty  of  her  situation,  in  landing  through  a 
surf,  she  also  experienced  a  fair  proportion  of  its  wild 
delight.  At  moments,  indeed,  her  heart  was  in  her  mouth, 
as  the  bubble  of  a  boat  floated  on  the  very  crest  of  a  foam 
ing  breaker,  appearing  to  skim  the  water  like  a  swallow, 
and  then  she  flushed  and  laughed,  as,  left  by  the  glancing 
element,  they  appeared  to  linger  behind  as  if  ashamed  of 
having  been  outdone  in  the  headlong  race.  A  few  minutes 
sufficed  for  this  excitement;  for  though  the  distance  be 
tween  the  cutter  and  the  land  considerably  exceeded  a 
quarter  of  a  mile,  the  intermediate  space  was  passed  in 
a  very  few  minutes. 

On  landing,  the  sergeant  kissed  his  daughter  kindly, 
for  he  was  so  much  of  a  soldier  as  always  to  feel  more  at 
home  on  terra  firma  than  when  afloat;  and,  taking  his 
gun,  he  announced  his  intention  to  pass  an  hour  in  quest 
of  game. 

"Pathfinder  will  remain  near  you,  girl,  and  no  doubt 
he  will  tell  you  some  of  the  traditions  of  this  part  of  the 
world,  or  some  of  his  own  experiences  with  theMingoes." 

The  guide  laughed,  promised  to  have  a  care  of  Mabel, 
and  in  a  few  minutes  the  father  had  ascended  a  steep 


THE  PATHFINDER  263 

acclivity  and  disappeared  in  the  forest.  The  others  took 
another  direction,  which,  after  a  few  minutes  of  a  sharp 
ascent  also,  brought  them  to  a  small  naked  point  on  the 
promontory,  where  the  eye  overlooked  an  extensive  and 
very  peculiar  panorama.  Here  Mabel  seated  herself  on  a 
fragment  of  fallen  rock  to  recover  her  breath  and  strength, 
while  her  companion,  on  whose  sinews  no  personal  exertion 
seemed  to  make  any  impression,  stood  at  her  side,  leaning 
in  his  own  and  not  ungraceful  manner  on  his  long  rifle. 
Several  minutes  passed,  and  neither  spoke;  Mabel,  in  par 
ticular,  being  lost  in  admiration  of  the  view. 

The  position  the  two  had  obtained  was  sufficiently  ele 
vated  to  command  a  wide  reach  of  the  lake,  which  stretched 
away  towards  the  northeast  in  a  boundless  sheet,  glitter 
ing  beneath  the  rays  of  an  afternoon's  sun,  and  yet  betray 
ing  the  remains  of  that  agitation  which  it  had  endured 
while  tossed  by  the  late  tempest.  The  land  set  bounds  to 
its  limits  in  a  huge  crescent,  disappearing  in  distance 
towards  the  southeast  and  the  north.  Far  as  the  eye  could 
reach,  nothing  but  forest  was  visible,  not  even  a  solitary 
sign  of  civilization  breaking  in  upon  the  uniform  and 
grand  magnificence  of  nature.  The  gale  had  driven  the 
Scud  beyond  the  line  of  those  forts  with  which  the  French 
were  then  endeavoring  to  gird  the  English  North  Ameri 
can  possessions;  for,  following  the  channels  of  communi 
cation  between  the  great  lakes,  their  posts  were  on  the 
banks  of  the  Niagara,  while  our  adventurers  had  reached 
a  point  many  leagues  westward  of  that  celebrated  strait. 
The  cutter  rode  at  single  anchor,  without  the  breakers, 
resembling  some  well-imagined  and  accurately  executed 
toy,  intended  rather  for  a  glass  case  than  for  struggles 
with  the  elements  which  she  had  so  lately  gone  through, 
while  the  canoe  lay  on  the  narrow  beach,  just  out  of  reach 
of  the  waves  that  came  booming  upon  the  land,  a  speck 
upon  the  shingles. 

"We  are  very  far  here  from  human  habitations!"  ex 
claimed  Mabel,  when,  after  a  long  survey  of  the  scene,  its 
principal  peculiarities  forced  themselves  on  her  active  and 
ever  brilliant  imagination;  "this  is  indeed  being  on  a 
frontier. ' ' 

"Have  they  more  sightly  scenes  than  this  nearer  the 


264  THE  PATHFINDER 

sea  and  around  their  large  towns?"  demanded  Pathfinder, 
with  an  interest  he  was  apt  to  discover  in  such  a  sub 
ject. 

"I  will  not  say  that;  there  is  more  to  remind  one  of  his 
fellow-beings  there  than  here;  less,  perhaps,  to  remind 
one  of  God." 

"Ay,  Mabel,  that  is  what  my  own  feelings  say.  I  am 
but  a  poor  hunter,  I  know,  untaught  and  unlarned ;  but 
God  is  as  near  me,  in  this  my  home,  as  he  is  near  the  king 
in  his  royal  palace." 

"Who  can  doubt  it?"  returned  Mabel,  looking  from 
the  view  up  into  the  hard-featured  but  honest  face  of  her 
companion,  though  not  without  surprise  at  the  energy  of 
his  manner.  "One  feels  nearer  to  God  in  such  a  spot,  I 
think,  than  when  the  mind  is  distracted  by  the  objects  of 
the  towns. ' ' 

'  'You  say  all  I  wish  to  say  myself,  Mabol,  but  in  so  much 
plainer  speech,  that  you  make  me  ashamed  of  wishing  to 
let  others  know  what  I  feel  on  such  matters.  I  have  coasted 
this  lake  in  search  of  skins  afore  the  war,  and  have  been 
here  already;  not  at  this  very  spot,  for  we  landed  yonder, 
where  you  may  see  the  blasted  oak  that  stands  above  the 
cluster  of  hemlocks— 

"How,  Pathfinder,  can  you  remember  all  these  trifles  so 
accurately?'" 

"These  are  our  streets  and  houses,  our  churches  and 
palaces.  Remember  them,  indeed!  I  once  made  an  ap 
pointment  with  the  Big  Sarpent,  to  meet  at  twelve  o'clock 
at  noon,  near  the  foot  of  a  certain  pine,  at  the  end  of  six 
months,  when  neither  of  us  was  within  three  hundred 
miles  of  the  spot.  The  tree  stood,  and  stands  still,  unless 
the  judgment  of  Providence  has  lighted  on  that,  too,  in  the 
midst  of  the  forest,  fifty  miles  from  any  settlement,  but 
in  a  most  extraordinary  neighborhood  for  beaver." 

"And  did  you  meet  at  that  very  spot  and  hour?" 

"Does  the  sun  rise  and  set?  When  I  reached  the  tree, 
I  found  the  Sarpent  leaning  against  its  trunk  with  torn 
leggings  and  muddled  moccasins.  The  Delaware  had  got 
into  a  swamp,  and  it  worried  him  not  a  little  to  find  his 
way  out  of  it;  but  as  the  sun  which  comes  over  the  eastern 
hills  in  the  morning  goes  down  behind  the  western  at 


THE  PATHFINDER  2C5 

night,  so  was  he  true  to  time  and  place.  No  fear  of  Chin- 
gachgook  when  there  is  either  a  friend  or  an  enemy  in  the 
case.  He  is  equally  sartain  with  each." 

"And  where  is  the  Delaware  now?  why  is  he  not  with 
us  to-day?" 

"He  is  scouting  on  the  Mingo  trail,  where  I  ought  to 
have  been  too,  but  for  a  great  human  infirmity. ' ' 

"You  seem  above,  beyond,  superior  to  all  infirmity, 
Pathfinder;  I  never  yet  met  with  a  man  who  appeared  to 
be  so  little  liable  to  the  weaknesses  of  nature." 

"If  you  mean  in  the  way  of  health  and  strength,  Mabel, 
Providence  has  been  kind  to  me;  though  I  fancy  the  open 
air,  long  hunts,  active  scoutings,  forest  fare,  and  the  sleep 
of  a  good  conscience,  may  always  keep  the  doctors  at  a 
distance.  But  I  am  human  after  all;  yes,  I  find  I'm  very 
human  in  some  of  my  feelings." 

Mabel  looked  surprised,  and  it  would  be  no  more  than 
delineating  the  character  of  her  sex,  if  we  added  that  her 
sweet  countenance  expressed  a  good  deal  of  curiosity,  too, 
though  her  tongue  was  more  discreet. 

"There  is  something  bewitching  in  this  wild  life  of 
yours,  Pathfinder,"  she  exclaimed,  a  tinge  of  enthusiasm 
mantling  her  cheeks.  "I  find  I'm  fast  getting  to  be  a 
frontier  girl,  and  am  coming  to  love  all  this  grand  silence 
of  the  woods.  The  towns  seem  tame  to  me;  and,  as  my 
father  will  probably  pass  the  remainder  of  his  days  here, 
where  he  has  already  lived  so  long,  I  begin  to  feel  that  I 
should  be  happy  to  continue  with  him,  and  not  to  return 
to  the  seashore. ' ' 

"The  woods  are  never  silent,  Mabel,  to  such  as  under 
stand  their  meaning.  Days  at  a  time  have  I  traveled  them 
alone,  without  feeling  the  want  of  company;  and,  as  for 
conversation,  for  such  as  can  comprehend  their  language, 
there  is  no  want  of  rational  and  instructive  discourse." 

"I  believe  you  are  happier  when  alone,  Pathfinder,  than 
when  mingling  with  your  fellow-creatures." 

"I  will  not  say  that,  I  will  not  say  exactly  that.  I  have 
seen  the  time  when  I  have  thought  that  God  was  sufficient 
for  me  in  the  forest,  and  that  I  have  craved  no  more  than 
His  bounty  and  His  care.  But  other  feelings  have  got 
uppermost,  and  I  suppose  natur'  will  have  its  way.  All 


THE  PATHFINDER 

other  creatur's  mate,  Mabel,  and  it  was  intended  man 
should  do  so,  too. ' ' 

"And  have  you  never  bethought  you  of  seeking  a  wife, 
Pathfinder,  to  share  your  fortunes?"  inquired  the  girl, 
with  the  directness  and  simplicity  that  the  pure  of  heart 
and  the  undesigning  are  the  most  apt  to  manifest,  and 
with  that  feeling  of  affection  which  is  inbred  in  her  sex. 
"To  me  it  seems  you  only  want  a  home  to  return  to  from 
your  wanderings  to  render  your  life  completely  happy. 
Were  I  a  man,  it  would  be  my  delight  to  roam  through 
these  forests  at  will,  or  to  sail  over  this  beautiful  lake." 

"I understand  you,  Mabel;  and  God  bless  you  for  think 
ing  of  the  welfare  of  men  as  humble  as  we  are.  We  have 
our  pleasures,  it's  true,  as  well  as  our  gifts,  but  we  might 
be  happier;  yes,  I  do  think  we  might  be  happier." 

"Happier!  in  what  way,  Pathfinder?  In  this  pure  air, 
with  these  cool  and  shaded  forests  to  wander  through,  this 
lovely  lake  to  gaze  at  and  sail  upon,  with  clear  consciences, 
and  abundance  for  all  their  real  wants,  men  ought  to  be 
nothing  less  than  as  perfectly  happy  as  their  infirmities 
will  allow/' 

"Every  creatur'  has  its  gifts,  Mabel,  and  men  have 
theirs,"  answered  the  guide,  looking  stealthily  at  his 
beautiful  companion,  whose  cheeks  had  flushed  and  eyes 
brightened  under  the  ardor  of  feelings  excited  by  the  nov 
elty  of  her  striking  situation;  "and  all  must  obey  them. 
Do  you  see  yonder  pigeon  that  is  just  alightin*  on  the 
beach — here  in  a  line  with  the  fallen  chestnut?" 

"Certainly;  it  is  the  only  thing  stirring  with  life  in  it, 
besides  ourselves,  that  is  to  be  seen  in  this  vast  solitude." 

"Not  so,  Mabel,  not  so;  Providence  makes  nothing  that 
lives  to  live  quite  alone.  Here  is  its  mate,  just  rising  on 
the  wing;  it  has  been  feeding  near  the  other  beach,  but  it 
will  not  lone  be  separated  from  its  companion." 

"I  understand  you,  Pathfinder, "  returned  Mabel,  smil 
ing  sweetly,  though  as  calmly  as  if  the  discourse  was  with 
her  father.  "But  a  hunter  may  find  a  mate,  even  in  this 
wild  region.  The  Indian  girls  are  affectionate  and  true, 
I  know;  for  such  was  the  wife  of  Arrowhead,  to  a  husband 
who  oftener  frowned  than  smiled." 

"That  would  never  do,  Mabel,  and  good  would  never 


THE  PATHFINDER  267 

come  of  it.  Kind  must  cling  to  kind,  and  country  to 
country,  if  one  would  find  happiness.  If,  indeed,  I  could 
meet  with  one  like  you,  who  would  consent  to  be  a  hunter's 
wife,  and  who  would  not  scorn  my  ignorance  and  rude- 
MSB,  then,  indeed,  would  all  the  toil  of  the  past  appear 
like  the  sporting  of  the  young  deer,  and  all  the  future  like 
sunshine. ' ' 

"One  like  me!  A  girl  of  my  years  and  indiscretion 
would  hardly  make  a  fit  companion  for  the  boldest  scout 
and  surest  hunter  on  the  lines." 

"Ah,  Mabel!  I  fear  me  that  I  have  been  improving  a 
red-skin's  gifts  with  a  pale  face's  natur'?  Such  a  char 
acter  would  insure  a  wife  in  an  Indian  village. " 

"Surely,  surely,  Pathfinder,  you  would  not  think  of 
choosing  one  so  ignorant,  so  frivolous,  so  vain,  and  so 
inexperienced  as  I  for  your  wife?"  Mabel  would  have 
added,  "and  as  young;"  but  an  instinctive  feeling  of 
delicacy  repressed  the  words. 

"And  why  not,  Mabel?  If  you  are  ignorant  of  frontier 
usages,  you  know  more  than  all  of  us  of  pleasant  anecdotes 
and  town  customs;  as  for  frivolous,  I  know  not  what  it 
means;  but  if  it  signifies  beauty,  ah's  me!  I  fear  it  is  no 
fault  in  my  eyes.  Vain  you  are  not,  as  is  seen  by  the  kind 
manner  in  which  you  listen  to  all  my  idle  tales  about 
scoutings  and  trails;  and  as  for  experience,  that  will  come 
with  years.  Besides,  Mabel,  I  fear  men  think  little  of 
these  matters  when  they  are  about  to  take  wives;  I  do." 

"Pathfinder,  your  words — your  looks;  surely,  all  this 
is  meant  in  trifling;  you  speak  in  pleasantry?" 

"To  me  it  is  always  agreeable  to  be  near  you,  Mabel; 
and  I  should  sleep  sounder  this  blessed  night  than  I  have 
done  for  a  week  past,  could  I  think  that  you  find  such  dis 
course  as  pleasant  as  I  do. " 

We  shall  not  say  that  Mabel  Dunham  had  not  believed 
herself  a  favorite  with  the  guide.  This  her  quick  femi 
nine  sagacity  had  early  discovered;  and  perhaps  she  had 
occasionally  thought  there  had  mingled  with  his  regard  and 
friendship  some  of  that  manly  tenderness  which  the  ruder 
sex  must  be  coarse,  indeed,  not  to  show  on  occasions  to 
the  gentler;  but  the  idea  that  he  seriously  sought  her  for 
his  wife  had  never  before  crossed  the  mind  of  the  spirited 


268  THE  PATHFINDER 

and  ingenuous  girl.  Now,  however,  a  gleam  of  something 
like  the  truth  broke  in  upon  her  imagination,  less  induced 
by  the  words  of  her  companion,  perhaps,  than  by  his 
manner.  Looking  earnestly  into  the  rugged,  honest  coun 
tenance  of  the  scout,  Mabel's  own  features  became  con 
cerned  and  grave;  and  when  she  spoke  again,  it  was  with 
a  gentleness  of  manner  that  attracted  him  to  her  even 
more  powerfully  than  the  words  themselves  were  calculated 
to  repel. 

"You and  I  should  understand  each  other,  Pathfinder," 
said  she  with  an  earnest  sincerity;  "nor  should  there  be 
any  cloud  between  us.  You  are  too  upright  and  frank  to 
meet  with  anything  but  sincerity  and  frankness  in  return. 
Surely,  surely,  all  this  means  nothing — has  no  other  con 
nection  with  your  feelings  than  such  a  friendship  as  one 
of  your  wisdom  and  character  would  naturally  feel  for  a 
girl  like  me?" 

"I  believe  it's  all  nat'ral,  Mabel;  yes,  I  do;  the  ser 
geant  tells  me  he  had  such  feelings  towards  your  own 
mother,  and  I  think  I've  seen  something  like  it  in  the 
young  people  I  have  from  time  to  time  guided  through  the 
wilderness.  Yes,  yes,  I  daresay  it's  all  nat'ral  enough, 
and  that  makes  it  come  so  easy,  and  is  a  great  comfort  to 
me." 

"Pathfinder,  your  words  make  me  uneasy.  Speak 
plainer,  or  change  the  subject  forever.  You  do  not,  can 
not  mean  that- — you  cannot  wish  me  to  understand" — even 
the  tongue  of  the  spirited  Mabel  faltered,  and  she  shrank, 
with  maiden  shame,  from  adding  what  she  wished  so  ear 
nestly  to  say.  'Rallying  her  courage,  however,  and  deter 
mined  to  know  all  as  soon  and  as  plainly  as  possible,  after 
a  moment's  hesitation,  she  continued — "I  mean,  Path 
finder,  that  you  do  not  wish  me  to  understand  that  you 
seriously  think  of  me  as  a  wife?" 

"I  do,  Mabel;  that's  it,  that's  just  it;  and  you  have 
put  the  matter  in  a  much  better  point  of  view  than  I  with 
my  forest  gifts  and  frontier  ways  would  ever  be  able  to 
do.  The  sergeant  and  I  have  concluded  on  the  matter, 
if  it  is  agreeable  to  you,  as  he  thinks  is  likely  to  be  the 
case;  though  I  doubt  my  own  power  to  please  one  who 
deserves  the  best  husband  America  can  produce." 


THE  PATHFINDER  269 

Mabel's  countenance  changed  from  uneasiness  to  sur 
prise;  and  then,  by  a  transition  still  quicker,  from 
surprise  to  pain. 

"My  father!"  she  exclaimed— "my  dear  father  has 
thought  of  my  becoming  your  wife,  Pathfinder?" 

"Yes,  he  has,  Mabel,  he  has,  indeed.  He  has  even 
thought  such  a  thing  might  be  agreeable  to  you,  and  has 
almost  encouraged  me  to  fancy  it  might  be  true." 

"But  you  yourself — you  certainly  can  care  nothing 
whether  this  singular  expectation  shall  ever  be  realized 
or  not?" 

"Anan?" 

"I  mean,  Pathfinder,  that  you  have  talked  of  this  match 
more  to  oblige  my  father  than  anything  else;  that  your 
feelings  are  no  way  concerned,  let  my  answer  be  what  it 
may?" 

The  scout  looked  earnestly  into  the  beautiful  face  of 
Mabel,  which  had  flushed  with  the  ardor  and  novelty  of 
her  sensations,  and  it  was  not  possible  to  mistake  the  in 
tense  admiration  that  betrayed  itself  in  every  lineament 
of  his  ingenuous  countenance. 

"I  have  often  thought  myself  happy,  Mabel,  when  rang 
ing  the  woods  on  a  successful  hunt,  breathing  the  pure  air 
of  the  hills,  and  filled  with  vigor  and  health;  but  I  now 
know  that  it  has  all  been  idleness  and  vanity  compared 
with  the  delight  it  would  give  me  to  know  that  you 
thought  better  of  me  than  you  think  of  most  others." 

"Better  of  you! — I  do,  indeed,  think  better  of  you, 
Pathfinder,  than  of  most  others;  I  am  not  certain  that  I 
do  not  think  better  of  you  than  of  any  other;  for  your 
truth,  honesty,  simplicity,  justice,  and  courage  are  scarcely 
equaled  by  any  of  earth." 

"Ah,  Mabel,  these  are  sweet  and  encouraging  words 
from  you!  and  the  sergeant,  after  all,  was  not  so  near 
wrong  as  I  feared." 

"Nay,  Pathfinder,  in  the  name  of  all  that  is  sacred  and 
just,  do  not  let  us  misunderstand  each  other  in  a  matter 
of  so  much  importance.  While  I  esteem,  respect,  nay,  rev 
erence  you,  almost  as  much  as  I  reverence  my  own  dear 
father,  it  is  impossible  that  I  should  ever  become  your 
wife— that  I " 


270  THE  PATHFINDER 

The  change  in  her  companion's  countenance  was  so  sud 
den  and  so  great,  that  the  moment  the  effect  of  what  she 
had  uttered  became  visible  in  the  face  of  the  Pathfinder, 
Mabel  arrested  her  own  words,  notwithstanding  her  strong 
desire  to  be  explicit,  the  reluctance  with  which  she  could 
at  any  time  cause  pain  being  sufficient  of  itself  to  induce 
the  pause.  Neither  spoke  for  some  time,  the  shade  of 
disappointment  that  crossed  the  rugged  lineaments  of  the 
hunter  amounting  so  nearly  to  anguish  as  to  frighten  his 
companion,  while  the  sensation  of  choking  became  so  strong 
in  the  Pathfinder  that  he  fairly  griped  this  throat,  like  one 
who  sought  physical  relief  for  physical  suffering.  The 
convulsive  manner  in  which  his  fingers  worked  actually 
struck  the  alarmed  girl  with  a  feeling  of  awe. 

"Nay,  Pathfinder, ' '  Mabel  eagerly  added,  the  instant  she 
could  command  her  voice — "I  may  have  said  more  than  I 
mean;  for  all  things  of  his  nature  are  possible,  and  women, 
they  say,  are  never  sure  of  their  own  minds.  What  I  wish 
you  to  understand  is,  that  it  is  not  likely  that  you  and  I 
should  ever  think  of  each  other  as  man  and  wife  ought  to 
think  of  each  other. ' ' 

' '  I  do  not — I  shall  never  think  in  that  way  again,  Mabel, ' ' 
gasped  forth  the  Pathfinder,  who  appeared  to  utter  his 
words  like  one  just  raised  above  the  pressure  of  some 
suffocating  substance.  "No,  no,  I  shall  never  think  of 
you,  or  anyone  else,  again  in  that  way." 

"Pathfinder,  dear  Pathfinder,  understand  me;  do  not 
attach  more  meaning  to  my  words  than  I  do  myself;  a 
match  like  that  would  be  unwise,  unnatural,  perhaps." 

"Yes,  unnat'ral — ag'in  natur';  and  so  I  told  the  ser 
geant,  but  he  would  have  it  otherwise." 

"Pathfinder!  oh,  this  is  worse  than  I  could  have  im 
agined  !  Take  my  hand,  excellent  Pathfinder,  and  let  me 
see  that  you  do  not  hate  me.  For  God's  sake,  smile  upon 
me  again." 

"Hate  you,  Mabel!     Smile  upon  you!     Ah's  me!" 

"Nay,  give  me  your  hand;  your  hardy,  true,  and  manly 
hand — both,  both,  Pathfinder!  for  I  shall  not  be  easy  until 
I  feel  certain  that  we  are  friends  again,  and  that  all  this 
has  been  a  mistake. ' ' 

"Mabel!"  said  the  guide,   looking  wistfully  into  the 


THE  PATHFINDER  271 

face  of  the  generous  and  impetuous  girl,  as  she  held  his 
two  hard  and  sunburnt  hands  in  her  own  pretty  and  deli 
cate  fingers,  and  laughing  in  his  own  silent  and  peculiar 
manner,  while  anguish  gleamed  over  lineaments  which 
seemed  incapable  of  deception,  even  while  agitated  with 
•emotions  so  conflicting — "Mabel!  the  sergeant  was 
wrong. ' ' 

The  pent-up  feelings  could  endure  no  more,  and  the 
tears  rolled  down  the  cheeks  of  the  scout  like  rain.  His 
fingers  again  worked  convulsively  at  his  throat;  and  his 
breast  heaved,  as  if  it  possessed  a  tenant  of  which  it  would 
be  rid,  by  any  effort,  however  desperate. 

"Pathfinder!  Pathfinder!"  Mabel  almost  shrieked; 
"anything  but  this,  anything  but  this!  Speak  to  me, 
Pathfinder!  smile  again,  say  one  kind  word,  anything  to 
prove  you  can  forgive  me." 

"The  sergeant  was  wrong!"  exclaimed  the  guide, 
laughing  amid  his  agony,  in  a  way  to  terrify  his  com 
panion  by  the  unnatural  mixture  of  anguish  and  light- 
heartedness.  "I  knew  it,  I  knew  it,  and  said  it;  yes,  the 
sergeant  was  wrong  after  all." 

"We  can  be  friends,  though  we  cannot  be  man  and 
wife,"  continued  Mabel,  almost  as  much  disturbed  as  her 
companion,  scarcely  knowing  what  she  said;  "we  can  al 
ways  be  friends,  and  always  will." 

"I  thought  the  sergeant  was  mistaken,"  resumed  the 
Pathfinder,  when  a  great  effort  had  enabled  him  to  com 
mand  himself,  "for  I  did  not  think  my  gifts  were  such  as 
would  please  the  fancy  of  a  town-bred  girl.  It  would  have 
been  better,  Mabel,  had  he  not  over-persuaded  me  into  a 
different  notion;  and  it  might  have  been  better,  too,  had 
you  not  been  so  pleasant  and  confiding  like;  yes,  it  would." 

"If  I  thought  any  error  of  mine  had  raised  false  ex 
pectations  in  you,  Pathfinder,  however  unintentionally  on 
my  part,  I  should  never  forgive  myself;  for,  believe  me,  I 
would  rather  endure  pain  in  my  own  feelings  than  you 
should  suffer." 

"That's  just  it,  Mabel,  that's  just  it.  These  speeches 
and  opinions,  spoken  in  so  soft  a  voice,  and  in  a  way  I'm 
so  unused  to  in  the  woods,  have  done  the  mischief.  But 
I  now  see  plainly,  and  begin  to  understand  the  difference 


272  THE  PATHFINDER 

between  us  better,  and  will  strive  to  keep  down  thought, 
and  to  go  abroad  again  as  I  used  to  do,  looking  for  the 
game  and  the  inimy.  Ah's  me,  Mabel!  I  have  indeed 
been  on  a  false  trail  since  we  met." 

"In  a  little  while  you  will  forget  all  this,  and  think  of 
me  as  a  friend,  who  owes  you  her  life." 

"This  may  be  the  way  in  the  towns,  but  I  doubt  if  it's 
nat'ral  to  the  woods.  With  us,  when  the  eye  sees  a  lovely 
sight,  it  is  apt  to  keep  it  long  in  view,  or  when  the  mind 
takes  in  an  upright  and  proper  feeling,  it  is  loath  to  part 
with  it." 

"You  will  forget  it  all,  when  you  come  seriously  to 
recollect  that  I  am  altogether  unsuited  to  be  your  wife." 

"So  I  told  the  sergeant;  but  he  would  have  it  other 
wise." 

"I  knew  you  was  too  young  and  beautiful  for  one  of 
middle  age,  like  myself,  and  who  never  was  comely  to 
look  at  even  in  youth;  and  then  your  ways  have  not  been 
my  ways;  nor  would  a  hunter's  cabin  be  a  fitting  place 
for  one  who  was  edicated  among  chiefs,  as  it  were.  If  I 
were  younger  and  comelier,  though,  like  Jasper  Eau- 
douce — 

"Never  mind  Jasper  Eau-douce, "  interrupted  Mabel 
impatiently;  "we  can  talk  of  something  else." 

"Jasper  is  a  worthy  lad,  Mabel;  ay,  and  a  comely," 
returned  the  guileless  guide,  looking  earnestly  at  the  girl, 
as  if  he  distrusted  her  judgment  in  speaking  slightingly 
of  his  friend.  "Were  I  only  half  as  comely  as  Jasper 
Western,  my  misgivings  in  this  affair  would  not  have  been 
so  great,  and  they  might  not  have  been  so  true." 

"We  will  not  talk  of  Jasper  Western,"  repeated  Mabel, 
the  color  mounting  to  her  temples;  "he  may  be  good 
enough  in  a  gale,  or  on  the  lake,  but  he  is  not  good  enough 
to  talk  of  here. ' ' 

"I  fear  me,  Mabel,  he  is  better  than  the  man  who  is 
likely  to  be  your  husband,  though  the  sergeant  says  that 
never  can  take  place.  But  the  sergeant  was  wrong  once, 
and  he  may  be  wrong  twice." 

"And  who  is  likely  to  be  my  husband,  Pathfinder!  This 
is  scarcely  less  strange  than  what  has  just  passed  between 
us." 


THE  PATHFINDER  273 

"I  know  it  is  nat'ral  for  like  to  seek  like,  and  for  them 
that  have  consorted  much  with  officers'  ladies  to  wish  to 
be  officers'  ladies  themselves.  But,  Mabel,  I  may  speak 
plainly  to  you,  I  know;  and  I  hope  my  words  will  not  give 
you  pain;  for,  now  I  understand  what  it  is  to  be  disap 
pointed  in  such  feelings,  I  wouldn't  wish  to  cause  even  a 
Mingo  sorrow  on  this  head.  But  happiness  is  not  always 
to  be  found  in  a  marquee,  any  more  than  in  a  tent;  and 
though  the  officers'  quarters  may  look  more  tempting  than 
the  rest  of  the  barracks,  there  is  often  great  misery  be 
tween  husband  and  wife  inside  of  their  doors." 

"I  do  not  doubt  it  in  the  least,  Pathfinder;  and,  did  it 
rest  with  me  to  decide,  I  would  sooner  follow  you  to  some 
cabin  in  the  woods,  and  share  your  fortune,  whether  it 
might  be  better  or  worse,  than  go  inside  the  door  of  any 
officer  I  know,  with  an  intention  of  remaining  there  as  its 
master's  wife." 

"Mabel,  this  is  not  what  Lundie  hopes,  or  Lundie 
thinks." 

"And  what  care  I  for  Lundie?  He  is  major  of  the  55th, 
and  may  command  his  men  to  wheel  and  march  about  as 
he  pleases;  but  he  cannot  compel  me  to  wed  the  greatest 
or  the  meanest  of  his  mess.  Besides,  what  can  you  know 
of  Lundie's  wishes  on  such  a  subject?" 

"From  Lundie's  own  mouth.  The  sergeant  had  told 
him  that  he  wished  me  for  a  son-in-law;  and  the  major, 
being  an  old  and  a  true  friend,  conversed  with  me  on  the 
subject.  He  put  it  to  me  plainly,  whether  it  would  not 
be  more  ginerous  in  me  to  let  an  officer  succeed,  than  to 
strive  to  make  you  share  a  hunter's  fortune.  I  owned 
the  truth,  I  did;  and  that  was,  that  I  thought  it  might; 
but  when  he  told  me  that  the  quartermaster  would  be 
his  choice,  I  would  not  abide  by  the  conditions.  No,  no, 
Mabel;  I  know  Davy  Muir  well,  and  though  he  may  make 
you  a  lady,  he  can  never  make  you  a  happy  woman,  or 
himself  a  gentleman." 

"My  father  has  been  very  wrong  if  he  has  said  or  done 
aught  to  cause  you  sorrow,  Pathfinder;  and  so  great  is  my 
respect  for  you,  so  sincere  my  friendship,  that  were  it  not 
for  one — I  mean  that  no  person  need  fear  Lieutenant 
Muir's  influence  with  me — I  would  rather  remain  as  I  am 
18 


274  THE  PATHFINDER 

to  my  dying  day  than  become  a  lady  at  the  cost  of  being 
his  wife." 

"I  do  not  think  you  would  say  that  which  you  do  not 
feel,  Mabel,"  returned  Pathfinder  earnestly. 

"Not  at  such  a  moment,  on  such  a  subject,  and  least  of 
all  to  you.  No;  Lieutenant  Muir  may  find  wives  where 
he  can — my  name  shall  never  be  on  his  catalogue." 

"Thank  you,  thank  you  for  that,  Mabel;  for,  though 
there  is  no  longer  any  hope  for  me,  I  could  never  be 
happy  were  you  to  take  to  the  quartermaster.  I  feared 
the  commission  might  count  for  something,  I  did;  and  I 
know  the  man.  It  is  not  jealousy  that  makes  me  speak 
in  this  manner,  but  truth,  for  I  know  the  man.  Now, 
were  you  to  fancy  a  desarving  youth,  one  like  Jasper 
Western,  for  instance — —  " 

"Why  always  mention  Jasper  Eau-douce,  Pathfinder? 
he  can  have  no  concern  with  our  friendship;  let  us  talk  of 
yourself,  and  of  the  manner  in  which  you  intend  to  pass 
the  winter. ' ' 

"Ah's  me! — I'm  little  worth  at  the  best,  Mabel,  unless 
it  may  be  on  a  trail  or  with  the  rifle;  and  less  worth  now 
that  I  have  discovered  the  sergeant's  mistake.  There  is 
no  need,  therefore,  of  talking  of  me.  It  has  been  very 
pleasant  to  me  to  be  near  you  so  long,  and  even  to  fancy 
that  the  sergeant  was  right;  but  that  is  all  over  now.  I 
shall  go  down  the  lake  with  Jasper,  and  then  there  will 
be  business  to  occupy  us,  and  that  will  keep  useless 
thoughts  out  of  the  mind." 

"And  you  will  forget  this — forget  me — no,  not  forget 
me,  either,  Pathfinder;  but  you  will  resume  your  old 
pursuits,  and  cease  to  think  a  girl  of  sufficient  importance 
to  disturb  your  peace?" 

"I  never  knowed  it  afore,  Mabel;  but  girls  are  of 
more  account  in  this  life  than  I  could  have  believed. 
Now,  afore  I  knowed  you,  the  new-born  babe  did  not  sleep 
more  sweetly  than  I  used;  my  head  was  no  sooner  on  the 
root,  or  the  stone,  or  mayhap  on  the  skin,  than  all  was 
lost  to  the  senses,  unless  it  might  be  to  go  over  in  the 
night  the  business  of  the  day  in  a  dream  like;  and  there  I 
lay  till  the  moment  came  to  be  stirring,  and  the  swallows 
were  not  more  certain  to  be  on  the  wing  with  the  light, 


THE  PATHFINDER  275 

than  I  to  be  afoot  at  the  moment  I  wished  to  be.  All 
this  seemed  a  gift,  and  might  be  calculated  on  even  in 
the  midst  of  a  Mingo  camp;  for  I've  been  outlying  in  my 
time,  in  the  very  villages  of  the  vagabonds." 

"And  all  this  will  return  to  you,  Pathfinder,  for  one  so 
upright  and  sincere  will  never  waste  his  happiness  on  a 
mere  fancy.  You  will  dream  again  of  your  hunts,  of  the 
deer  you  have  slain,  and  of  the  beaver  you  have  taken." 

"Ah's  me,  Mabel,  I  wish  never  to  dream  again!  Before 
we  met,  I  had  a  sort  of  pleasure  in  following  up  the 
hounds,  in  fancy,  as  it  might  be;  and  even  in  striking  a 
trail  of  the  Iroquois — nay,  I've  been  in  scrimmages  and 
ambushments,  in  thought  like,  and  found  satisfaction  in 
it,  according  to  my  gifts;  but  all  those  things  have  lost 
their  charms  since  I've  made  acquaintance  with  you. 
Now,  I  think  no  longer  of  anything  rude  in  my  dreams; 
but  the  very  last  night  we  stayed  in  the  garrison  I 
imagined  I  had  a  cabin  in  a  grove  of  sugar  maples,  and  at 
the  root  of  every  tree  was  a  Mabel  Dunham,  while  the 
birds  among  the  branches  sang  ballads  instead  of  the 
notes  that  natur'  gave  and  even  the  deer  stopped  to  listen. 
I  tried  to  shoot  a  fa'n,  but  Killdeer  missed  fire,  and  the 
creatur'  laughed  in  my  face,  as  pleasantly  as  a  young  girl 
laughs  in  her  merriment,  and  then  it  bounded  away, 
looking  back  as  if  expecting  me  to  follow." 

"No  more  of  this,  Pathfinder;  we'll  talk  no  more  of 
these  things,"  said  Mabel,  dashing  the  tears  from  her 
eyes;  for  the  simple,  earnest  manner  in  which  this  hardy 
woodsman  betrayed  the  deep  hold  she  had  taken  of  his 
feelings  nearly  proved  too  much  for  her  own  generous 
heart.  "Now,  let  us  look  for  my  father;  he  cannot  be 
distant,  as  I  heard  his  gun  quite  near." 

"The  sergeant  was  wrong — yes,  he  was  wrong,  and  it's 
of  no  avail  to  attempt  to  make  the  dove  consort  with  the 
wolf." 

"Here  comes  my  dear  father,"  interrupted  Mabel. 
"Let  us  look  cheerful  and  happy,  Pathfinder,  as  such  good 
friends  ought  to  look,  and  keep  each  other's  secrets." 

A  pause  succeeded;  the  sergeant's  foot  was  heard  crush 
ing  the  dried  twigs  hard  by,  and  then  his  form  appeared 
shoving  aside  the  bushes  of  a  copse  just  near.  As  he 


276  THE  PATHFINDER 

issued  into  the  open  ground,  the  old  soldier  scrutinized 
his  daughter  and  her  companion,  and  speaking  good- 
naturedly,  he  said,  "Mabel,  child,  you  are  young  and 
light  of  foot — look  for  a  bird  that  I've  shot  that  fell  just 
beyond  the  thicket  of  young  hemlocks  on  the  shore;  and, 
as  Jasper  is  showing  signs  of  an  intention  of  getting  un 
der  way,  you  need  not  take  the  trouble  to  clamber  up  this 
hill  again,  but  we  will  meet  you  on  the  beach  in  a  few 
minutes. ' ' 

Mabel  obeyed,  bounding  down  the  hill  with  the  elastic 
step  of  youth  and  health.  But,  notwithstanding  the  light 
ness  of  her  steps,  the  heart  of  the  girl  was  heavy,  and  no 
sooner  was  she  hid  from  observation  by  the  thicket,  than 
she  threw  herself  on  the  root  of  a  tree  and  wept  as  if  her 
heart  would  break.  The  sergeant  watched  her  until  she 
disappeared,  with  a  father's  pride,  and  then  turned  to  his 
companion  with  a  smile  as  kind  and  as  familiar  as  his 
habits  would  allow  him  to  use  towards  any. 

"She  has  her  mother's  lightness  and  activity,  my  friend, 
with  somewhat  of  her  father's  force,"  said  he.  "Her 
mother  was  not  quite  so  handsome,  I  think  myself;  but 
the  Dunhams  were  always  thought  comely,  whether  men 
or  women.  Well,  Pathfinder,  I  take  it  for  granted  you've 
not  overlooked  the  opportunity,  but  have  spoken  plainly 
to  the  girl?  women  like  frankness  in  matters  of  this 
sort." 

"I  believe  Mabel  and  I  understand  each  other  at  last, 
sergeant,"  returned  the  other,  looking  another  way  to 
avoid  the  soldier's  face. 

"So  much  the  better.  Some  people  fancy  that  a  little 
doubt  and  uncertainty  makes  love  all  the  livelier;  but  I 
am  one  of  those  who  think  the  plainer  the  tongue  speaks 
the  easier  the  mind  will  comprehend.  Was  Mabel  sur 
prised?" 

"I  fear  she  was,  sergeant;  I  fear  she  was  taken  quite 
by  surprise— yes,  I  do. " 

"Well,  well,  surprises  in  love  are  like  an  ambush  in 
war,  and  quite  as  lawful;  though  it  is  not  easy  to  tell 
when  a  woman  is  surprised,  as  to  tell  when  it  happens  to 
an  enemy.  Mabel  did  not  run  away,  my  worthy  friend, 
did  she?" 


THE  PATHFINDER  277 

"No,  sergeant,  Mabel  did  not  try  to  escape;  that  I  can 
say  with  a  clear  conscience." 

"I  hope  the  girl  was  not  too  willing,  neither!  Her 
mother  was  shy  and  coy  for  a  month,  at  least;  but  frank 
ness,  after  all,  is  a  recommendation  in  a  man  or  woman." 

"That  it  is,  that  it  is;  and  judgment,  too." 

"You  are  not  to  look  for  too  much  judgment  in  a  young 
creature  of  twenty,  Pathfinder,  but  it  will  come  with  ex 
perience.  A  mistake  in  you  or  me,  for  instance,  might 
not  be  so  easily  overlooked;  but  in  a  girl  of  Mabel's  years, 
one  is  not  to  strain  at  a  gnat  lest  they  swallow  a  camel." 

The  reader  will  remember  that  Sergeant  Dunham  was 
not  a  Hebrew  scholar. 

The  muscles  of  the  listener's  face  twitched  as  the  ser 
geant  was  thus  delivering  his  sentiments,  though  the 
former  had  now  recovered  a  portion  of  that  stoicism  which 
formed  so  large  a  part  of  his  character,  and  which  he  had 
probably  imbibed  from  long  association  with  the  Indians. 
His  eyes  rose  and  fell,  and  once  a  gleam  shot  athwart  his 
hard  features  as  if  he  were  about  to  indulge  in  his  peculiar 
laugh;  but  the  joyous  feeling,  if  it  really  existed,  was  as 
quickly  lost  in  a  look  allied  to  anguish.  It  was  this  un 
usual  mixture  of  wild  and  keen  mental  agony  with  native, 
simple  joyousness,  which  had  most  struck  Mabel,  who,  in 
the  interview  just  related,  had  a  dozen  times  been  on  the 
point  of  believing  that  her  suitor's  heart  was  only  lightly 
touched,  as  images  of  happiness  and  humor  gleamed  over 
a  mind  that  was  almost  infantine  in  its  simplicity  and 
nature;  an  impression,  however,  which  was  soon  driven 
away  by  the  discovery  of  emotions  so  painful  and  so  deep, 
that  they  seemed  to  harrow  the  very  soul. 

"You  say  true,  sergeant,"  Pathfinder  answered;  "a 
mistake  in  one  like  you  is  a  more  serious  matter." 

"You  will  find  Mabel  sincere  and  honest  in  the  end; 
give  her  but  a  little  time." 

"Ah's  me,  sergeant!" 

"A  man  of  your  merits  would  make  an  impression  on  a 
rock,  give  him  time,  Pathfinder." 

"Sergeant  Dunham,  we  are  old  fellow-campaigners — 
that  is,  as  campaigns  are  carried  on  here  in  the  wilder 
ness;  and  we  have  done  so  many  kind  acts  to  each  other 


278  THE  PATHFINDER 

that  we  can  afford  to  be  candid.  What  has  caused  you  to 
believe  that  a  girl  like  Mabel  could  ever  fancy  one  so 
rude  as  I  am?" 

"What?  why,  a  variety  of  reasons,  and  good  reasons, 
too,  my  friend.  Those  same  acts  of  kindness,  perhaps, 
and  the  campaigns  you  mention;  moreover,  you  are  my 
sworn  and  tried  comrade. ' ' 

"All  this  sounds  well,  so  far  as  you  and  I  are  consarned; 
but  they  do  not  touch  the  case  of  your  pretty  daughter. 
She  may  think  these  very  campaigns  have  destroyed  the 
little  comeliness  I  may  once  have  had;  and  I  am  not  quite 
sartain  that  being  an  old  friend  of  her  father  would  lead 
any  young  maiden's  mind  into  a  particular  affection  for 
a  suitor.  Like  loves  like,  I  tell  you,  sergeant;  and  my 
gifts  are  not  altogether  the  gifts  of  Mabel  Dunham. ' ' 

"These  are  some  of  your  old  modest  qualms,  Pathfinder, 
and  will  do  you  no  credit  with  the  girl.  Women  distrust 
men  who  distrust  themselves,  and  take  to  men  who  dis 
trust  nothing.  Modesty  is  a  capital  thing  in  a  recruit,  I 
grant  you;  or  in  a  young  subaltern  who  has  just  joined, 
for  it  prevents  his  railing  at  the  non-commissioned  officers 
before  he  knows  what  to  rail  at;  I'm  not  sure  it  is  out  of 
place  in  a  commissary  or  a  parson,  but  it's  the  devil  and 
all  when  it  gets  possession  of  a  real  soldier  or  a  lover. 
Have  as  little  to  do  with  it  as  possible,  if  you  would  win 
a  woman's  heart.  As  for  your  doctrine  that  like  loves 
like,  it  is  as  wrong  as  possible  in  matters  of  this  sort.  If 
like  loved  like,  women  would  love  one  another,  and  men 
also.  No,  no,  like  loves  dislike" — the  sergeant  was 
merely  a  scholar  of  the  camp — "and  you  have  nothing  to 
fear  from  Mabel  on  that  score.  Look  at  Lieutenant  Muir; 
the  man  has  had  five  wives  already,  they  tell  me,  and  there 
is  no  more  modesty  in  him  than  there  is  in  a  cat-o'-nine 
tails." 

"Lieutenant  Muir  will  never  be  the  husband  of  Mabel 
Dunham,  let  him  ruffle  his  feathers  as  much  as  he  may." 

"That  is  a  sensible  remark  of  yours,  Pathfinder;  for  my 
mind  is  made  up  that  you  shall  be  my  son-in-law.  If  I 
were  an  officer  myself,  Mr.  Muir  might  have  some  chance ; 
but  time  has  placed  one  door  between  my  child  and  my 
self,  and  I  don't  intend  there  shall  be  that  of  a  marquee 
also." 


THE  PATHFINDER  279 

t 

"Sergeant,  we  must  let  Mabel  follow  her  own  fancy- 
she  is  young  and  light  of  heart,  and  God  forbid  that  any 
wish  of  mine  should  lay  the  weight  of  a  feather  on  a  mind 
that  is  all  gaiety  now,  or  take  one  note  of  happiness  from 
her  laughter!" 

"Have  you  conversed  freely  with  the  girl?"  the  ser 
geant  demanded  quickly,  and  with  some  asperity  of 
manner. 

Pathfinder  was  too  honest  to  deny  a  truth  plain  as  that 
which  the  answer  required,  and  yet  too  honorable  to  be 
tray  Mabel,  and  expose  her  to  the  resentment  of  one  whom 
he  well  knew  to  be  stern  in  his  anger, 

"We  have  laid  open  our  minds,"  he  said;  "and  though 
Mabel's  is  one  that  any  man  might  love  to  look  at,  I  find 
little  there,  sergeant,  to  make  me  think  any  better  of 
myself. ' ' 

"The  girl  has  not  dared  to  refuse  you — to  refuse  her 
father's  best  friend?" 

Pathfinder  turned  his  face  away  to  conceal  the  look  of 
anguish  that  consciousness  told  him  was  passing  athwart 
it,  but  he  continued  the  discourse  in  his  own  quiet,  manly 
tones. 

"Mabel  is  too  kind  to  refuse  anything,  or  to  utter 
harsh  words  to  a  dog.  I  have  not  put  the  question  in  a 
way  to  be  downright  refused,  sergeant." 

"And  did  you  expect  my  daughter  to  jump  into  your 
arms  before  you  asked  her?  She  would  not  have  been  her 
mother's  child  had  she  done  any  such  thing,  nor  do  I  think 
she  would  have  been  mine.  The  Dunhams  like  plain 
dealing  as  well  as  the  king's  majesty;  but  they  are  no 
jumpers.  Leave  me  to  manage  this  matter  for  you,  Path 
finder,  and  there  shall  be  no  unnecessary  delay.  I'll  speak 
to  Mabel  myself  this  very  evening,  using  your  name  as 
principal  in  the  affair." 

"I'd  rather  not,  I'd  rather  not,  sergeant.  Leave  the 
matter  to  Mabel  and  me,  and  I  think  all  will  come  right 
in  the  ind.  Young  girls  are  like  timorsome  birds;  they 
do  not  over-relish  being  hurried  or  spoken  harshly  to 
neither.  Leave  the  matter  to  Mabel  and  me." 

"On  one  condition  I  will,  my  friend;  and  that  is,  that 
you  will  promise  me,  on  the  honor  of  a  scout,  that  you 


280  THE  PATHFINDER 

will  put  the  matter  plainly  to  Mabel  the  first  suitable 
opportunity,  and  no  mincing  of  words." 

"I  will  ask  her,  sergeant,  on  condition  that  you  promise 
not  to  meddle  in  the  affair — yes,  I  will  promise  to  ask 
Mabel  whether  she  will  marry  me,  even  though  she  laugh 
in  my  face  at  my  doing  so,  on  that  condition." 

Sergeant  Dunham  gave  the  desired  promise  very  cheer 
fully ;  for  he  had  completely  wrought  himself  up  into  the 
belief  that  the  man  he  so  much  esteemed  himself  must  be 
acceptable  to  his  daughter.  He  had  married  a  woman 
much  younger  than  himself,  and  he  saw  no  unfitness  in 
the  respective  years  of  the  intended  couple.  Mabel  was 
educated  so  much  above  him,  too,  that  he  was  not  aware 
of  the  difference  which  actually  existed  between  the 
parent  and  child  in  this  respect.  It  followed  that  Sergeant 
Dunham  was  not  altogether  qualified  to  appreciate  his 
daughter's  tastes,  or  to  form  a  very  probable  conjecture 
what  would  be  the  direction  taken  by  those  feelings  which 
oftener  depend  on  impulses  and  passion  than  on  reason. 
Still,  the  worthy  soldier  was  not  so  wrong  in  his  estimate 
of  the  Pathfinder's  chances  as  might  at  first  appear. 
Knowing  all  the  sterling  qualities  of  the  man,  his  truth, 
integrity  of  purpose,  courage,  self-devotion,  disinterest 
edness,  it  was  far  from  unreasonable  to  suppose  that 
qualities  like  these  would  produce  a  deep  impression  on 
any  female  heart;  and  the  father  erred  principally  in 
fancying  that  the  daughter  might  know  as  it  might  be  by 
intuition  what  he  himself  had  acquired  by  years  of  inter 
course  and  adventure. 

As  Pathfinder  and  his  military  friend  descended  the 
hill  to  the  shore  of  the  lake,  the  discourse  did  not  flag. 
The  latter  continued  to  persuade  the  former  that  his  diffi 
dence  alone  prevented  complete  success  with  Mabel,  and 
that  he  had  only  to  persevere  in  order  to  prevail.  Path 
finder  was  much  too  modest  by  nature,  and  had  been  too 
plainly,  though  so  delicately,  discouraged  in  the  recent 
interview  to  believe  all  he  heard;  still  the  father  used  so 
many  arguments  v/hich  seemed  plausible,  and  it  was  so 
grateful  to  fancy  that  the  daughter  might  yet  be  his,  that 
the  reader  is  not  to  be  surprised  when  he  is  told  that  this 
unsophisticated  being  did  not  view  Mabel's  recent  conduct 


THE  PATHFINDER  281 

in  precisely  the  light  in  which  he  may  be  inclined  to  view 
it  himself.  He  did  not  credit  all  that  the  sergeant  told 
him,  it  is  true;  but  he  began  to  think  virgin  coyness  and 
ignorance  of  her  own  feelings  might  have  induced  Mabel 
to  use  the  language  she  had. 

"The  quartermaster  is  no  favorite,"  said  Pathfinder  in 
answer  to  one  of  his  companion's  remarks.  "Mabel  will 
never  look  on  him  as  more  than  one  who  has  had  four  or 
five  wives  already." 

"Which  is  more  than  his  share.  A  man  may  marry 
twice  without  offence  to  good  morals  and  decency,  I  allow! 
but  four  times  is  an  aggravation." 

"I  should  think  even  marrying  once  what  Master  Cap 
calls  a  circumstance,"  put  in  Pathfinder,  laughing  in  his 
quiet  way,  for  by  this  time  his  spirits  had  recovered 
some  of  their  buoyancy. 

"It  is,  indeed,  my  friend,  and  a  most  solemn  circum 
stance,  too.  If  it  were  not  that  Mabel  is  to  be  your  wife, 
I  would  advise  you  to  remain  single.  But  here  is  the  girl 
herself,  and  discretion  is  the  word." 

"Ah's  me,  sergeant,  I  fear  you  are  mistaken!" 


CHAPTER  XIX 

"  Thus  was  this  place 
A  happy  rural  seat  of  various  view." 

—MILTON. 

MABEL  was  in  waiting  on  the  beach,  and  the  canoe  was 
soon  launched.  Pathfinder  carried  the  party  out  through 
the  surf  in  the  same  skilful  manner  that  he  had  brought 
it  in;  and  though  Mabel's  color  heightened  with  excite 
ment,  and  her  heart  seemed  often  ready  to  leap  out  of  her 
mouth  again,  they  reached  the  side  of  the  Scud  without 
having  received  even  a  drop  of  spray. 

Ontario  is  like  a  quick-tempered  man,  sudden  to  be  an 
gered,  and  as  soon  appeased.  The  sea  had  already  fal 
len;  and  though  the  breakers  bounded  the  shore,  far  as 
the  eye  could  reach,  it  was  merely  in  lines  of  brightness, 
that  appeared  and  vanished  like  the  returning  waves 
produced  by  a  stone  which  had  been  dropped  into  a  pool. 
The  cable  of  the  Scud  was  scarcely  seen  above  the  water, 
and  Jasper  had  already  hoisted  his  sails,  in  readiness  to 
depart  as  soon  as  the  expected  breeze  from  the  shore 
should  fill  the  canvas. 

It  was  just  sunset  as  the  cutter's  mainsail  flapped  and 
its  stem  began  to  sever  the  water.  The  air  was  light  and 
southerly,  and  the  head  of  the  vessel  was  kept  looking  up 
along  the  south  shore,  it  being  the  intention  to  get  to  the 
eastward  again  as  fast  as  possible.  The  night  that  suc 
ceeded  was  quiet;  and  the  rest  of  those  who  slept  deep 
and  tranquil. 

Some  difficulty  occurred  concerning  the  command  of 
the  vessel,  but  the  matter  had  been  finally  settled  by  an 
amicable  compromise.  As  the  distrust  of  Jasper  was  far 
from  being  appeased;  Cap  retained  a  supervisory  power, 
while  the  young  man  was  allowed  to  work  the  craft,  sub 
ject,  at  all  times,  to  the  control  and  interference  of  the 
old  seaman.  To  this  Jasper  consented,  in  preference  to 
exposing  Mabel  any  longer  to  the  dangers  of  their  present 

282 


THE  PATHFINDER  283 

situation;  for,  now  that  the  violence  of  the  elements  had 
ceased,  he  well  knew  that  the  Montcalm  would  be  in 
search  of  them.  He  had  the  discretion,  however,  not  to 
reveal  his  apprehensions  on  this  head;  for  it  happened 
that  the  very  means  he  deemed  the  best  to  escape  the 
enemy  were  those  which  would  be  most  likely  to  awaken 
new  suspicions  of  his  honesty  in  the  minds  of  those  who 
held  the  power  to  defeat  his  intentions.  In  other  words, 
Jasper  believed  that  the  gallant  young  Frenchman,  who 
commanded  the  ship  of  the  enemy,  would  quit  his  anchor 
age  under  the  fort  at  Niagara,  and  stand  up  the  lake,  as 
soon  as  the  wind  abated,  in  order  to  ascertain  the  fate  of 
the  Scud,  keeping  midway  between  the  two  shores  as  the 
best  means  of  commanding  a  broad  view;  and  that,  on 
his  part,  it  would  be  expedient  to  hug  one  coast  or  the 
other,  not  only  to  avoid  a  meeting,  but  as  affording  a 
chance  of  passing  without  detection  by  blending  his  sails 
and  spars  with  objects  on  the  land.  He  preferred  the 
south  because  it  was  the  weather  shore,  and  because  he 
thought  it  was  that  which  the  enemy  would  the  least 
expect  him  to  take,  though  it  necessarily  led  near  his 
settlements,  and  in  front  of  one  of  the  strongest  posts  he 
held  in  that  part  of  the  world. 

Of  all  this,  however,  Cap  was  happily  ignorant,  and 
the  sergeant's  mind  was  too  much  occupied  with  the  de 
tails  of  his  military  trust  to  enter  into  these  niceties, 
which  so  properly  belonged  to  another  profession.  No 
opposition  was  made,  therefore,  and  before  morning 
Jasper  had  apparently  dropped  quietly  into  all  his  former 
authority,  issuing  his  orders  freely,  and  meeting  with 
obedience  without  hesitation  or  cavil. 

The  appearance  of  day  brought  all  on  board  on  deck 
again;  and,  as  is  usual  with  adventurers  on  the  water, 
the  opening  horizon  was  curiously  examined,  as  objects 
started  out  of  the  obscurity,  and  the  panorama  brightened 
under  the  growing  light.  East,  west,  and  north  nothing 
was  visible  but  water  glittering  in  the  rising  sun;  but 
southward  stretched  the  endless  belt  of  woods  that  then 
held  Ontario  in  a  setting  of  forest  verdure.  Suddenly  an 
opening  appeared  ahead,  and  then  the  massive  walls  of 
a  chateau-looking  house,  with  outworks,  bastions,  block- 


284  THE  PATHFINDER 

houses,  and  palisadoes,  frowned  on  a  headland  that 
bordered  the  outlet  of  a  broad  stream.  Just  as  the  fort 
became  visible,  a  little  cloud  rose  over  it,  and  the  white 
ensign  of  France  was  seen  fluttering  from  a  lofty  flagstaff. 

Cap  gave  an  ejaculation  as  he  witnessed  this  ungrateful 
exhibition,  and  he  cast  a  quick  suspicious  glance  at  his 
brother-in-law. 

"The  dirty  tablecloth,  hung  up  to  air,  as  my  name  is 

Charles  Cap!"  he  muttered;  "and  we  hugging  this  d d 

shore  as  if  it  were  our  wife  and  children  met  on  the  re 
turn  from  an  India  v'y'ge!  Hark'e,  Jasper,  are  you  in 
search  of  a  cargo  of  frogs,  that  you  keep  so  near  in  to 
this  New  France?" 

"I  hug  the  land,  sir,  in  the  hope  of  passing  the  enemy's 
ship  without  being  seen,  for  I  think  she  must  be  some 
where  down  here  to  leeward." 

"Ay,  ay,  this  sounds  well,  and  I  hope  it  may  turn  out 
as  you  say.  I  trust  there  is  no  undertow  here?" 

"We  are  on  a  weather  shore,  now,"  said  Jasper,  smil 
ing;  "and  I  think  you  will  admit,  Master  Cap,  that  a 
strong  undertow  makes  an  easy  cable;  we  owe  all  our 
lives  to  the  undertow  of  this  very  lake. ' ' 

"French  flummery!"  growled  Cap,  though  he  did  not 
care  to  be  heard  by  Jasper.  "Give  me  a  fair,  honest, 
English-Yankee-American  tow,  above  board,  and  above 
water,  too,  if  I  must  have  a  tow  at  all,  and  none  of  your 
sneaking  drift  that  is  below  the  surface,  where  one  can 
neither  see  nor  feel.  I  daresay,  if  the  truth  could  be 
come  at,  that  this  late  escape  of  ours  was  all  a  contrived 
affair." 

"We  have  now  a  good  opportunity,  at  least,  to  recon- 
noiter  the  enemy's  post  at  Niagara,  brother,  for  such  I 
take  this  fort  to  be,"  put  in  the  sergeant.  "Let  us  be 
all  eyes  in  passing,  and  remember  that  we  are  almost  in 
face  of  the  enemy." 

This  advice  of  the  sergeant  needed  nothing  to  enforce 
it;  for  the  interest  and  novelty  of  passing  a  spot  occupied 
by  human  beings  were  of  themselves  sufficient  to  attract 
deep  attention  in  that  scene  of  a  vast  but  deserted  nature. 
The  wind  was  now  fresh  enough  to  urge  the  Scud  through 
the  water  with  considerable  velocity,  and  Jasper  eased 


THE  PATHFINDER  285 

her  helm  as  she  opened  the  river,  and  luffed  nearly  into 
the  mouth  of  that  noble  strait,  or  river,  as  it  is  termed. 
A  dull,  distant,  heavy  roar  came  down  through  the  open 
ing  in  the  banks,  swelling  on  the  currents  of  the  air,  like 
the  deeper  notes  of  some  immense  organ,  and  occasionally 
seeming  to  cause  the  earth  itself  to  tremble. 

"That  sounds  like  surf  on  some  long  unbroken  coast!" 
exclaimed  Cap,  as  a  swell,  deeper  than  common,  came  to 
his  ears. 

"Ay,  that  is  such  surf  as  we  have  in  this  quarter  of  the 
world,"  Pathfinder  answered.  "There  is  no  undertow 
there,  Master  Cap;  but  all  the  water  that  strikes  the  rocks 
stays  there,  so  far  as  going  back  again  is  consarned. 
That  is  old  Niagara  that  you  hear,  or  this  noble  stream 
tumbling  down  a  mountain. ' ' 

"No  one  will  have  the  impudence  to  pretend  that  this 
fine  broad  river  falls  over  yonder  hills?" 

"It  does,  Master  Cap,  it  does;  and  all  for  the  want  of 
stairs,  or  a  road  to  come  down  by.  This  is  natur',  as  we 
have  it  up  hereaways,  though  I  daresay  you  beat  us  down 
on  the  ocean.  Ah's  me,  Mabel!  a  pleasant  hour  it  would 
be  if  we  could  walk  on  the  shore  some  ten  or  fifteen  miles 
up  this  stream,  and  gaze  on  all  that  God  has  done  there." 

"You  have,  then,  seen  these  renowned  falls,  Path 
finder?"  the  girl  eagerly  inquired. 

"I  have — yes,  I  have;  and  an  awful  sight  I  witnessed 
at  that  same  time.  The  Sarpent  and  I  were  out  scouting 
about  the  garrison  there,  when  he  told  me  that  the  tradi 
tions  of  his  people  gave  an  account  of  a  mighty  cataract 
in  this  neighborhood,  and  he  asked  me  to  vary  from  the 
line  of  march  a  little  to  look  at  the  wonder.  I  had  heard 
some  marvels  consarning  the  spot  from  the  soldiers  of  the 
60th,  which  is  my  nat'ral  corps  like,  and  not  the  55th, 
with  which  I  have  sojourned  so  much  of  late;  but  there 
are  so  many  terrible  liars  in  all  rijiments  that  I  hardly 
believed  half  they  had  told  me.  Well,  we  went;  and 
though  we  expected  to  be  led  by  our  ears,  and  to  hear 
some  of  that  awful  roaring  that  we  hear  to-day,  we  were 
disappointed,  for  natur'  was  not  then  speaking  in  thunder, 
as  she  is  this  morning.  Thus  it  is  in  the  forest,  Master 
Cap;  there  being  moments  when  God  seems  to  be  walking 


286  THE  PATHFINDER 

abroad  in  power,  and  then,  again  there  is  a  calm  over  all, 
as  if  His  spirit  lay  in  quiet  along  the  'arth.  Well,  we  came 
suddenly  upon  the  stream,  a  short  distance  above  the  fall, 
and  a  young  Delaware,  who  was  in  our  company,  found  a 
bark  canoe,  and  he  would  push  into  the  current  to  reach 
an  island  that  lies  in  the  very  center  of  the  confusion  and 
strife.  We  told  him  of  his  folly,  we  did;  and  we  reasoned 
with  him  on  the  wickedness  of  tempting  Providence  by 
seeking  danger  that  led  to  no  ind;  but  the  youth  among 
the  Delawares  are  very  much  the  same  as  the  youth  among 
the  soldiers,  risky  and  vain.  All  we  could  say  did  not 
change  his  mind,  and  the  lad  had  his  way.  To  me  it 
seems,  Mabel,  that  whenever  a  thing  is  really  grand  and 
potent,  it  has  a  quiet  majesty  about  it,  altogether  unlike 
the  frothy  and  flustering  manner  of  smaller  matters,  and 
so  it  was  with  them  rapids.  The  canoe  was  no  sooner 
fairly  in  them,  than  down  it  went,  as  it  might  be,  as  one 
sails  through  the  air  on  the  'arth,  and  no  skill  of  the 
young  Delaware  could  resist  the  stream.  And  yet  he 
struggled  manfully  for  life,  using  the  paddle  to  the  last, 
like  the  deer  that  is  swimming  to  cast  the  hounds.  At 
first  he  shot  across  the  current  so  swiftly,  that  we  thought 
he  would  prevail;  but  he  had  miscalculated  his  distance, 
and  when  the  truth  really  struck  him,  he  turned  the  head 
up-stream,  and  struggled  in  a  way  that  was  fearful  to 
look  at.  I  could  have  pitied  him  even  had  he  been  a 
Mingo.  For  a  few  moments  his  efforts  were  so  frantic 
that  he  actually  prevailed  over  the  power  of  the  cataract; 
but  natur'  has  its  limits,  and  one  faltering  stroke  of  the 
paddle  set  him  back,  and  then  he  lost  ground,  foot  by 
foot,  inch  by  inch,  until  he  got  near  the  spot  where  the 
river  looked  even  and  green,  and  as  if  it  were  made  of 
millions  of  threads  of  water,  all  bent  over  some  huge 
rock,  when  he  shot  backwards  like  an  arrow  and  disap 
peared,  the  bow  of  the  canoe  tipping  just  enough  to  let 
us  see  what  had  become  of  him.  I  met  a  Mohawk  some 
years  later  who  had  witnessed  the  whole  affair  from  the 
bed  of  the  stream  below,  and  he  told  me  that  the  Dela 
ware  continued  to  paddle  in  the  air  until  he  was  lost  in 
the  midst  of  the  falls." 

"And  what  became  of  the  poor  wretch?"  demanded 


THE  PATHFINDER  287 

Mabel,  who  had  been  strongly  interested  by  the  natural 
eloquence  of  the  speaker. 

"He  went  to  the  happy  hunting-grounds  of  his  people, 
no  doubt;  for  though  he  was  risky  and  vain,  he  was  also 
just  and  brave.  Yes,  he  died  foolishly,  but  the  Manitou 
of  the  red-skins  has  compassion  on  his  creatures  as  well 
as  the  God  of  a  Christian. ' ' 

A  gun  at  this  moment  was  discharged  from  a  blockhouse 
near  the  fort;  and  the  shot,  one  of  light  weight,  came 
whistling  over  the  cutter's  mast,  an  admonition  to  ap 
proach  no  nearer.  Jasper  was  at  the  helm,  and  he  kept 
away,  smiling  at  the  same  time  as  if  he  felt  no  anger  at 
the  rudeness  of  the  salutation.  The  Scud  was  now  in  the 
current,  and  her  outward  set  soon  carried  her  far  enough 
to  leeward  to  avoid  the  danger  of  a  repetition  of  the  shot, 
and  then  she  quietly  continued  her  course  along  the  land. 
As  soon  as  the  river  was  fairly  opened,  Jasper  ascertained 
that  the  Montcalm  was  not  at  anchor  in  it;  and  a  man 
sent  aloft  came  down  with  the  report  that  the  horizon 
showed  no  sail.  The  hope  was  now  strong  that  the  artifice 
of  Jasper  had  succeeded,  and  that  the  French  commander 
had  missed  them  by  keeping  the  middle  of  the  lake  as  he 
steered  towards  its  head. 

All  that  day  the  wind  hung  to  the  southward,  and  the 
cutter  continued  her  course  about  a  league  from  the  land, 
running  six  or  eight  knots  the  hour  in  perfectly  smooth 
water.  Although  the  scene  had  one  feature  of  monotony, 
the  outline  of  unbroken  forest,  it  was  not  without  its 
interest  and  pleasures.  Various  headlands  presented  them 
selves,  and  the  cutter,  in  running  from  one  to  another, 
stretched  across  bays  so  deep  as  almost  to  deserve  the 
name  of  gulfs.  But  nowhere  did  the  eye  meet  with  the 
evidences  of  civilization;  rivers  occasionally  poured  their 
tribute  into  the  great  reservoir  of  the  lake,  but  their 
banks  could  be  traced  inland  for  miles  by  the  same  out 
lines  of  trees;  and  even  large  bays,  that  lay  embosomed 
in  woods,  communicating  with  Ontario  only  by  narrow 
outlets,  appeared  and  disappeared,  without  bringing 
with  them  a  single  trace  of  a  human  habitation. 

Of  all  on  board,  the  Pathfinder  viewed  the  scene  with 
the  most  unmingled  delight.  His  eyes  feasted  on  the 


288  THE  PATHFINDER 

endless  line  of  forest,  and  more  than  once  that  day,  notwith 
standing  he  found  it  so  grateful  to  be  near  Mabel,  listen 
ing  to  her  pleasant  voice,  and  echoing,  in  feelings  at 
least,  her  joyous  laugh,  did  his  soul  pine  to  be  wandering 
beneath  the  high  arches  of  the  maples,  oaks,  and  lindens, 
where  his  habits  had  induced  him  to  fancy  lasting  and 
true  joys  we  re  only  to  be  found.  Cap  viewed  the  prospect 
differently;  more  than  once  he  expressed  his  disgust  at 
there  being  no  lighthouses,  church-towers,  beacons,  or 
roadsteads  with  their  shipping.  Such  another  coast,  he 
protested,  the  world  did  not  contain;  and,  taking  the 
sergeant  aside,  he  gravely  assured  him  that  the  regions 
could  never  come  to  anything,  as  the  havens  were  neg 
lected,  the  rivers  had  a  deserted  and  useless  look,  and 
that  even  the  breeze  had  a  smell  of  the  forest  about  it, 
which  spoke  ill  of  its  properties. 

But  the  humors  of  the  different  individuals  in  her  did 
not  stay  the  speed  of  the  Scud;  when  the  sun  was  setting, 
she  was  already  a  hundred  miles  on  her  route  towards 
Oswego,  into  which  river  Sergeant  Dunham  now  thought 
it  his  duty  to  go,  in  order  to  receive  any  communications 
that  Major  Duncan  might  please  to  make.  With  a  view 
to  effect  this  purpose,  Jasper  continued  to  hug  the  shore 
all  night;  and  though  the  wind  began  to  fail  him  towards 
morning,  it  lasted  long  enough  to  carry  the  cutter  up  to 
a  point  that  was  known  to  be  but  a  league  or  two  from 
the  fort.  Here  the  breeze  came  out  light  at  the  north 
ward,  and  the  cutter  hauled  a  little  from  the  land,  in 
order  to  obtain  a  safe  offing  should  it  come  on  to  blow,  or 
should  the  weather  again  get  to  be  easterly. 

When  the  day  dawned,  the  cutter  had  the  mouth  of  the 
Oswego  well  under  the  lee,  distant  about  two  miles;  and 
just  as  the  morning  gun  from  the  fort  was  fired,  Jasper 
gave  the  order  to  ease  off  the  sheets,  and  to  bear  up  for 
his  port.  At  that  moment  a  cry  from  the  forecastle  drew 
all  eyes  towards  the  point  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  out 
let,  and  there,  just  without  the  range  of  shot  from  the 
light  guns  of  the  works,  with  her  canvas  reduced  to  barely 
enough  to  keep  her  stationary,  lay  the  Montcalm,  evidently 
in  waiting  for  their  appearance. 

To  pass  her  was  impossible,  for  by  filling  her  sails  the 


THE  PATHFINDER  289 

French  ship  could  have  intercepted  them  in  a  few  min 
utes;  and  the  circumstances  called  for  a  prompt  decision. 
After  a  short  consultation,  the  sergeant  again  changed 
his  plan,  determining  to  make  the  best  of  his  way  towards 
the  station  for  which  he  had  been  originally  destined, 
trusting  to  the  speed  of  the  Scud  to  throw  the  enemy  so 
far  astern  as  to  leave  no  clue  to  her  movements. 

The  cutter  accordingly  hauled  upon  a  wind  with  the 
least  possible  delay,  with  everything  set  that  would  draw. 
Guns  were  fired  from  the  fort,  ensigns  shown,  and  the 
ramparts  were  again  crowded.  But  sympathy  was  all  the 
aid  that  Lundie  could  lend  to  his  party;  and  the  Mont- 
calm,  also  firing  four  or  five  guns  of  defiance,  and  throw 
ing  abroad  several  of  the  banners  of  France,  was  soon  in 
chase  under  a  cloud  of  canvas. 

For  several  hours  the  two  vessels  were  pressing  through 
the  water  as  fast  as  possible,  making  short  stretches  to 
windward,  apparently  with  a  view  to  keep  the  port  under 
their  lee,  the  one  to  enter  it  if  possible,  and  the  other  to 
intercept  it  in  the  attempt. 

At  meridian  the  French  ship  was  hull  down,  dead  to 
leeward,  the  disparity  of  sailing  on  a  wind  being  very 
great,  and  some  islands  were  nearby,  behind  which  Jasper 
said  it  would  be  possible  for  the  cutter  to  conceal  her 
future  movements.  Although  Cap  and  the  sergeant,  and 
particularly  Lieutenant  Muir,  to  judge  by  his  language, 
still  felt  a  good  deal  of  distrust  of  the  young  man,  and 
Frontenac  was  not  distant,  this  advice  was  followed;  for 
time  pressed,  and  the  quartermaster  discreetly  observed 
that  Jasper  could  not  well  betray  them  without  running 
openly  into  the  enemy's  harbor,  a  step  they  could  at  any 
time  prevent,  since  the  only  cruiser  of  force  the  French 
possessed  at  the  moment  was  under  their  lee  and  not  in  a 
situation  to  do  them  any  immediate  injury. 

Left  to  himself,  Jasper  Western  soon  proved  how  much 
was  really  in  him.  He  weathered  upon  the  islands,  passed 
them,  and  on  coming  out  to  the  eastward,  kept  broad 
away,  with  nothing  in  sight  in  his  wake  or  to  leeward. 
By  sunset  again  the  cutter  was  up  with  the  first  of  the 
islands  that  lie  in  the  outlet  of  the  lake;  and  ere  it  was 
dark  she  was  running  through  the  narrow  channels  on  her 
19 


290  THE  PATHFINDER 

way  to  the  long-sought  station.  At  nine  o'clock,  however, 
Cap  insisted  that  they  should  anchor;  for  the  maze  of 
islands  became  so  complicated  and  obscure,  that  he  feared, 
at  every  opening,  the  party  would  find  themselves  under 
the  guns  of  a  French  fort.  Jasper  consented  cheerfully, 
it  being  a  part  of  his  standing  instructions  to  approach 
the  station  under  such  circumstances  as  would  prevent  the 
men  from  obtaining  any  very  accurate  notions  of  its  posi 
tion,  lest  a  deserter  might  betray  the  little  garrison  to 
the  enemy. 

The  Scud  was  brought  to  in  a  small  retired  bay,  where 
it  would  have  been  difficult  to  find  her  by  daylight,  and 
where  she  was  perfectly  concealed  at  night,  when  all  but 
a  solitary  sentinel  on  deck  sought  their  rest.  Cap  had 
been  so  harassed  during  the  previous  eight-and-forty 
hours,  that  his  slumbers  were  long  and  deep;  nor  did  he 
awake  from  his  first  nap  until  the  day  was  just  beginning 
to  dawn.  His  eyes  were  scarcely  open,  however,  when 
his  nautical  instinct  told  him  that  the  cutter  was  under 
way.  Springing  up,  he  found  the  Scud  threading  the 
islands  again,  with  no  one  on  deck  but  Jasper  and  the 
pilot,  unless  the  sentinel  be  excepted,  who  had  not  in  the 
least  interfered  with  movements  that  he  had  every  reason 
to  believe  were  as  regular  as  they  were  necessary. 

"How's  this,  Master  Western?"  demanded  Cap,  with 
sufficient  fierceness  for  the  occasion;  "are  you  running 
us  into  Frontenac  at  last,  arid  we  all  asleep  below,  like  so 
many  mariners  waiting  for  the  'sentry  go'?" 

"This  is  according  to  orders,  Master  Cap;  Major  Dun 
can  having  commanded  me  never  to  approach  the  station 
unless  at  a  moment  when  the  people  were  below;  for  he 
does  not  wish  there  should  be  more  pilots  in  those  waters 
than  the  king  has  need  of." 

"Whe — e — e — w!  a  pretty  job  I  should  have  made  of 
running  down  among  these  bushes  and  rocks  with  no  one 
on  deck!  Why,  a  regular  York  branch  could  make  nothing 
of  such  a  channel." 

"I  always  thought,  sir,"  said  Jasper,  smiling,  "you 
would  have  done  better  had  you  left  the  cutter  in  my 
hands  until  she  had  safely  reached  her  place  of  destina 
tion." 


THE  PATHFINDER  291 

"We  should  have  done  it,  Jasper,  we  should  have  done 
it,  had  it  not  been  for  a  circumstance;  these  circumstances 
are  serious  matters,  and  no  prudent  man  will  overlook 
them." 

"Well,  sir,  I  hope  there  is  now  an  end  of  them.  We 
shall  arrive  in  less  than  an  hour  if  the  wind  holds,  and 
then  you'll  be  safe  from  any  circumstances  that  I  can 
contrive." 

"Humph!" 

Cap  was  obliged  to  acquiesce;  and,  as  everything  around 
him  had  the  appearance  of  Jasper's  being  sincere,  there 
was  not  much  difficulty  in  making  up  his  mind  to  submit. 
It  would  not  have  been  easy  indeed  for  a  person  the  most 
sensitive  on  the  subject  of  circumstances  to  fancy  that 
the  Scud  was  anywhere  in  the  vicinity  of  a  port  so  long 
established  and  so  well  known  on  the  frontiers  as  Fronte- 
nac.  The  islands  might  not  have  been  literally  a  thousand 
in  number,  but  they  were  so  numerous  and  small  as  to 
baffle  calculation,  though  occasionally  one  of  larger  size 
than  common  was  passed.  Jasper  had  quitted  what  might 
have  been  termed  the  main  channel,  and  was  winding  his 
way,  with  a  good  stiff  breeze  and  a  favorable  current, 
through  passes  that  were  sometimes  so  narrow  that  there 
appeared  to  be  barely  room  sufficient  for  the  Scud's  spars 
to  clear  the  trees,  while  at  other  moments  he  shot  across 
little  bays,  and  buried  the  cutter  again  amid  rocks,  for 
ests,  and  bushes.  The  water  was  so  transparent  that  there 
was  no  occasion  for  the  lead,  and  being  of  very  equal 
depth,  little  risk  was  actually  run,  though  Cap,  with  his 
maritime  habits,  was  in  a  constant  fever  lest  they  should 
strike. 

"I  give  it  up,  I  give  it  up,  Pathfinder!"  the  old  seaman 
at  length  exclaimed,  when  the  little  vessel  emerged  in 
safety  from  the  twentieth  of  these  narrow  inlets  through 
which  she  had  been  so  boldly  carried;  "this  is  defying 
the  very  nature  of  seamanship,  and  sending  all  its  laws 
and  rules  to  the  devil!" 

"Nay,  nay,  Saltwater,  'tis  the  perfection  of  the  art. 
You  perceive  that  Jasper  never  falters,  but,  like  a  hound 
with  a  true  nose,  he  runs  with  his  head  high  as  if  he  had 
a  strong  scent.  My  life  on  it,  the  lad  brings  us  out  right 


292  THE  PATHFINDER 

in  the  ind,  as  he  would  have  done  in  the  beginning  had 
we  given  him  leave." 

"No,  pilot,  no  lead,  no  beacons,  buoys,  or  lighthouses, 
no— 

"Trail,"  interrupted  Pathfinder;  "for  that  to  me  is  the 
most  mysterious  part  of  the  business.  Water  leaves  no 
trail,  as  everyone  knows;  and  yet  here  is  Jasper  moving 
ahead  as  boldly  as  if  he  had  before  his  eyes  the  prints  of 
the  moccasins  on  leaves  as  plainly  as  we  can  see  the  sun 
in  the  heaven. ' ' 

"D —  -  me,  if  I  believe  there  is  even  any  com 
pass  ! ' ' 

"Stand  by  to  haul  down  the  jib,"  called  out  Jasper, 
who  merely  smiled  at  the  remarks  of  his  companion. 
"Haul  down — starboard  your  helm — starboard  hard — so 
— meet  her — gently  there  with  the  helm — touch  her  lightly 
— now  jump  ashore  with  the  fast,  lad- — no,  heave;  there 
are  some  of  our  people  ready  to  take  it." 

All  this  passed  so  quickly  as  barely  to  allow  the  spectator 
time  to  note  the  different  evolutions,  ere  the  Scud  had 
been  thrown  into  the  wind  until  her  mainsail  shivered, 
next  cast  a  little  by  the  use  of  the  rudder  only,  and  then 
she  set  bodily  alongside  of  a  natural  rocky  quay,  where 
she  was  immediately  secured  by  good  fasts  run  to  the 
shore.  In  a  word,  the  station  was  reached,  and  the  men 
of  the  55th  were  greeted  by  their  expecting  comrades, 
with  the  satisfaction  which  a  relief  usually  brings. 

Mabel  sprang  upon  the  shore  with  a  delight  which  she 
did  not  care  to  express;  and  her  father  led  his  men  after 
her  with  an  alacrity  which  proved  how  wearied  he  had 
become  of  the  cutter.  The  station,  as  the  place  was 
familiarly  termed  by  the  soldiers  of  the  55th,  was  indeed 
a  spot  to  raise  expectations  of  enjoyment  among  those 
who  had  been  cooped  up  so  long  in  a  vessel  of  the  dimen 
sions  of  the  Scud.  None  of  the  islands  was  high,  though 
ail  lay  at  a  sufficient  elevation  above  the  water  to  render 
them  perfectly  healthy  and  secure.  Each  had  more  or  less 
of  wood;  and  the  greater  number  at  that  distant  day  were 
clothed  with  the  virgin  forest.  The  one  selected  by  the 
troops  for  their  purpose  was  small,  containing  about 
twenty  acres  of  land,  and  by  some  of  the  accidents  of 


THE  PATHFINDER  293 

the  wilderness  it  had  been  partly  stripped  of  its  trees, 
probably  centuries  before  the  period  of  which  we  are 
writing,  and  a  little  grassy  glade  covered  nearly  half  its 
surface. 

The  shores  of  Station  Island  were  completely  fringed 
with  bushes,  and  great  care  had  been  taken  to  preserve 
them,  as  they  answered  as  a  screen  to  conceal  the  persons 
and  things  collected  within  their  circle.  Favored  by  this 
shelter,  as  well  as  by  that  of  several  thickets  of  trees  and 
different  copses,  some  six  or  eight  low  huts  had  been 
erected  to  be  used  as  quarters  for  the  officer  and  his  men, 
to  contain  stores,  and  to  serve  the  purposes  of  kitchen, 
hospital,  etc.  These  huts  were  built  of  logs  in  the  usual 
manner,  had  been  roofed  by  bark  brought  from  a  distance, 
lest  the  signs  of  labor  should  attract  attention,  and,  as 
they  had  now  been  inhabited  some  months,  were  as  com 
fortable  as  dwellings  of  that  description  usually  ever  get 
to  be. 

At  the  eastern  extremity  of  the  island,  however,  was  a 
small,  densely  wooded  peninsula,  with  a  thicket  of  under 
brush  so  closely  matted  as  nearly  to  prevent  the  possibility 
of  seeing  across  it,  so  long  as  the  leaves  remained  on  the 
branches.  Near  the  narrow  neck  that  connected  this  acre 
with  the  rest  of  the  island,  a  small  blockhouse  had  been 
erected,  with  some  attention  to  its  means  of  resistance. 
The  logs  were  bullet-proof,  squared  and  jointed  with  a 
care  to  leave  no  defenseless  points;  the  windows  were 
loopholes,  the  door  massive  and  small,  and  the  roof,  like 
the  rest  of  the  structure,  was  framed  of  hewn  timber, 
covered  properly  with  bark  to  exclude  the  rain.  The 
lower  apartment  as  usual  contained  stores  and  provisions; 
here  indeed  the  party  kept  all  their  supplies;  the  second 
story  was  intended  for  a  dwelling,  as  well  as  for  the 
citadel,  and  a  low  garret  was  subdivided  into  two  or  three 
rooms,  and  could  hold  the  pallets  of  some  ten  or  fifteen 
persons.  All  the  arrangements  were  exceedingly  simple 
and  cheap,  but  they  were  sufficient  to  protect  the  soldiers 
against  the  effects  of  a  surprise.  As  the  whole  building 
was  considerably  less  than  forty  feet  high,  its  summit 
was  concealed  by  the  tops  of  the  trees,  except  from  the 
eyes  of  those  who  had  reached  the  interior  of  the  island. 


294  THE  PATHFINDER 

On  that  side  the  view  was  open  from  the  upper  loops, 
though  bushes  even  there,  more  or  less,  concealed  the  base 
of  the  wooden  tower. 

The  object  being  purely  defense,  care  had  been  taken 
to  place  the  blockhouse  so  near  an  opening  in  the  lime 
stone  rock  that  formed  the  base  of  the  island  as  to  admit 
of  a  bucket  being  dropped  into  the  water,  in  order  to 
obtain  that  great  essential  in  the  event  of  a  siege.  In 
order  to  facilitate  this  operation,  and  to  enfilade  the  base 
of  the  building,  the  upper  stories  projected  several  feet 
beyond  the  lower,  in  the  manner  usual  to  blockhouses,  and 
pieces  of  wood  rilled  the  apertures  cut  in  the  log  flooring, 
which  were  intended  as  loops  and  traps.  The  communi 
cations  between  the  different  stories  were  by  means  of 
ladders.  If  we  add  that  these  blockhouses  were  intended 
as  citadels  for  garrisons  or  settlements  to  retreat  to,  in 
the  cases  of  attacks,  the  general  reader  will  obtain  a 
sufficiently  correct  idea  of  the  arrangements  it  is  our 
wish  to  explain. 

But  the  situation  of  the  island  itself  formed  its  princi 
pal  merit  as  a  military  position.  Lying  in  the  midst  of 
twenty  others,  it  was  not  an  easy  matter  to  find  it;  since 
boats  might  pass  quite  near,  and,  by  glimpses  caught 
through  the  openings,  this  particular  island  would  be 
taken  for  a  part  of  some  other.  Indeed,  the  channels  be 
tween  the  islands  which  lay  around  the  one  we  have  been 
describing  were  so  narrow  that  it  was  even  difficult  to  say 
which  portions  of  the  land  were  connected,  or  which 
separated,  even  as  one  stood  in  the  center,  with  the  ex 
press  desire  of  ascertaining  the  truth.  The  little  bay  in 
particular,  which  Jasper  used  as  a  harbor,  was  so  em 
bowered  with  bushes  and  shut  in  with  islands,  that,  the 
sails  of  the  cutter  being  lowered,  her  own  people  on  one 
occasion  had  searched  for  hours  before  they  could  find  the 
Scud,  in  their  return  from  a  short  excursion  among  the 
adjacent  channels  in  quest  of  fish.  In  short,  the  place  was 
admirably  adapted  to  its  present  objects,  and  its  natural 
advantages  had  been  as  ingeniously  improved  as  economy 
and  the  limited  means  of  a  frontier  post  would  very  well 
allow. 

The  hour  which  succeeded  the  arrival  of  the  Scud  was 


THE  PATHFINDER  295 

one  of  hurried  excitement.  The  party  in  possession  had 
done  nothing  worthy  of  being  mentioned,  and,  wearied 
with  their  seclusion,  they  were  •  all  eager  to  return  to 
Oswego.  The  sergeant  and  the  officer  he  came  to  relieve 
had  no  sooner  gone  through  the  little  ceremonies  of  trans- 
fering  the  command,  than  the  latter  hurried  on  board  the 
Scud  with  his  whole  party;  and  Jasper,  who  would  gladly 
have  passed  the  day  on  the  island,  was  required  to  get 
under  way  forth  with,  the  wind  promising  a  quick  passage 
up  the  river  and  across  the  lake.  Before  separating, 
however,  Lieutenant  Muir,  Cap,  and  the  sergeant  had  a 
private  conference  with  the  ensign  who  had  been  relieved, 
in  which  the  last  was  made  acquainted  with  the  suspicions 
that  existed  against  the  fidelity  of  the  young  sailor. 
Promising  due  caution,  the  officer  embarked,  and  in  less 
than  three  hours  from  the  time  when  she  had  arrived  the 
cutter  was  again  in  motion. 

Mabel  had  taken  possession  of  a  hut;  and  with  fe 
male  readiness  and  skill  she  made  all  the  simple  little 
domestic  arrangements  of  which  the  circumstances  would 
admit,  not  only  for  her  own  comfort,  but  for  that  of  her 
father.  To  save  labor,  a  mess-table  was  prepared  in  a 
hut  set  apart  for  that  purpose,  where  all  the  heads  of  the 
detachment  were  to  eat,  the  soldier's  wife  performing 
the  necessary  labor.  The  hut  of  the  sergeant,  which  was 
the  best  on  the  island,  being  thus  freed  from  any  of  the 
vulgar  offices  of  a  household,  admitted  .of  such  a  display 
of  womanly  taste,  that,  for  the  first  time  since  her  arrival 
on  the  frontier,  Mabel  felt  proud  of  her  home.  As  soon 
as  these  important  duties  were  discharged,  she  strolled 
out  on  the  island,  taking  a  path  which  led  through  the 
pretty  glade,  and  which  conducted  to  the  only  point  not 
covered  with  bushes.  Here  she  stood  gazing  at  the  limpid 
water,  which  lay  with  scarcely  a  ruffle  on  it  at  her  feet, 
musing  on  the  novel  situation  in  which  she  was  placed, 
and  permitting  a  pleasing  and  deep  excitement  to  steal 
over  her  feelings,  as  she  remembered  the  scenes  through 
which  she  had  so  lately  passed,  and  conjectured  those 
which  still  lay  veiled  in  the  future. 

"You're  a  beautiful  fixture,  in  a  beautiful  spot,  Mis 
tress  Mabel,"  said  David  Muir,  suddenly  appearing  at 


296  THE  PATHFINDER 

her  elbow;  "and  I'll  no'  engage  you're  not  just  the 
handsomest  of  the  two." 

"I  will  not  say,  Mr.  Muir,  that  compliments  on  my 
person  are  altogether  unwelcome,  for  I  should  not  gain 
credit  for  speaking  the  truth,  perhaps,"  answered  Mabel 
with  spirit;  "but  I  will  say  that  if  you  would  condescend 
to  address  to  me  some  remarks  of  a  different  nature,  I 
may  be  led  to  believe  you  think  I  have  sufficient  faculties 
to  understand  them." 

"Hoot!  your  mind,  beautiful  Mabel,  is  polished  just 
like  the  barrel  of  a  soldier's  musket,  and  your  conversa 
tion  is  only  too  discreet  and  wise  for  a  poor  devil  who  has 
been  chewing  birch  up  here  these  four  years  on  the  lines, 
instead  of  receiving  it  in  an  appli cation  that  has  the  virtue 
of  imparting  knowledge.  But  you  are  no'  sorry,  I  take 
it,  young  lady,  that  you've  got  your  pretty  foot  on  terra 
firma  once  more. ' ' 

"I  thought  so  two  hours  since,  Mr.  Muir;  but  the  Scud 
looks  so  beautiful,  as  she  sails  through  these  vistas  of 
trees,  that  I  almost  regret  I  am  no  longer  one  of  her 
passengers. ' ' 

As  Mabel  ceased  speaking,  she  waved  her  handkerchief 
in  return  to  a  salutation  from  Jasper,  who  kept  his  eyes 
fastened  on  her  form  until  the  white  sails  of  the  cutter 
had  swept  round  a  point,  and  were  nearly  lost  behind  its 
green  fringe  of  leaves. 

"There  they  go,  and  I'll  no'  say  'joy  go  with  them'; 
but  may  they  have  the  luck  to  return  safely,  for  without 
them  we  shall  be  in  danger  of  passing  the  winter  on  this 
island;  unless,  indeed,  we  have  the  alternative  of  the 
castle  at  Quebec.  Yon  Jasper  Eau-douce  is  a  vagrant  sort 
of  a  lad,  and  they  have  reports  of  him  in  the  garrison 
that  it  pains  my  very  heart  to  hear.  Your  worthy  father, 
and  almost  as  worthy  uncle,  have  none  of  the  best  opinion 
of  him." 

"I  am  sorry  to  hear  it,  Mr.  Muir;  I  doubt  not  that 
time  will  remove  all  their  distrust." 

"If  time  would  only  remove  mine,  pretty  Mabel,"  re 
joined  the  quartermaster  in  a  wheedling  tone,  "I  should 
feel  no  envy  of  the  commander-in-chief .  I  think  if  I  were 
in  a  condition  to  retire,  the  sergeant  would  just  step  into 
my  shoes. ' ' 


THE  PATHFINDER  297 

"If  my  dear  father  is  worthy  to  step  into  your  shoes, 
Mr.  Muir, "  returned  the  girl,  with  malicious  pleasure, 
"I'm  sure  that  the  qualification  is  mutual,  and  that  you 
are  every  way  worthy  to  step  into  his." 

"The  deuce  is  in  the  child!  you  would  not  reduce  me 
to  the  rank  of  a  non-commissioned  officer,  Mabel?" 

"No,  indeed,  sir;  I  was  not  thinking  of  the  army  at 
all  as  you  spoke  of  retiring.  My  thoughts  were  more 
egotistical,  and  I  was  thinking  how  much  you  reminded 
me  of  my  dear  father,  by  your  experience,  wisdom,  and 
suitableness  to  take  his  place  as  the  head  of  a  family." 

"As  its  bridegroom,  pretty  Mabel,  but  not  as  its  parent 
or  natural  chief.  I  see  how  it  is  with  you,  loving  your 
repartee,  and  brilliant  with  wit.  Well,  I  like  spirit  in  a 
young  woman,  so  it  be  not  the  spirit  of  a  scold.  This 
Pathfinder  is  an  extraordinair,  Mabel,  if  truth  may  be 
said  of  the  man." 

"Truth  should  be  said  of  him  or  nothing.  Pathfinder 
is  my  friend — my  very  particular  friend,  Mr.  Muir,  and 
no  evil  can  be  said  of  him  in  my  presence  that  I  shall  not 
deny." 

"I  shall  say  nothing  evil  of  him,  I  can  assure  you, 
Mabel;  but,  at  the  same  time,  I  doubt  if  much  good  can 
be  said  in  his  favor." 

"He  is  at  least  expert  with  the  rifle,"  returned  Mabel, 
smiling.  "That  you  cannot  deny." 

"Let  him  have  all  the  credit  of  his  exploits  in  that 
way  if  you  please;  but  he  is  as  illiterate  as  a  Mohawk." 

"He  may  not  understand  Latin,  but  his  knowledge  of 
Iroquois  is  greater  than  that  of  most  men,  and  it  is  the 
more  useful  language  of  the  two  in  this  part  of  the 
world." 

"If  Lundie  himself  were  to  call  on  me  for  an  opinion 
which  I  admire  more,  your  person  or  your  wit,  beautiful 
and  caustic  Mabel,  I  should  be  at  a  loss  to  answer.  My 
admiration  is  so  nearly  divided  between  them,  that 
often  fancy  this  is  the  one  that  bears  off  the  palm,  and 
then  the  other!  Ah!  the  late  Mrs.  Muir  was  a  paragon 
in  that  way  also." 

"The  latest  Mrs.  Muir,  did  you  say,  sir?"  asked  Mabel, 
looking  up  innocently  at  her  companion. 


298  THE  PATHFINDER 

"Hoot,  hoot!  That  is  some  of  Pathfinder's  scandal. 
Now  I  daresay  that  the  fellow  has  been  trying  to  persuade 
you,  Mabel,  that  I  have  had  more  than  one  wife  already." 

"In  that  case  his  time  would  have  been  thrown  away, 
sir,  as  everybody  knows  that  you  have  been  so  unfortu 
nate  as  to  have  had  four. ' ' 

"Only  three,  as  sure  as  my  name  is  David  Muir.  The 
fourth  is  pure  scandal — or  rather,  pretty  Mabel,  she  is 
yet  in  petto,  as  -they  say  at  Rome;  and  that  means,  in 
matters  of  love,  in  the  heart  my  dear. ' ' 

"Well,  I'm  glad  I'm  not  that  fourth  person,  in  petto, 
or  in  anything  else,  as  I  should  not  like  to  be  a  scandal." 

"No  fear  of  that,  charming  Mabel;  for  were  you  the 
fourth,  all  the  others  would  be  forgotten,  and  your  won 
derful  beauty  and  merit  would  at  once  elevate  you  to  be 
the  first.  No  fear  of  your  being  the  fourth  in  anything." 

"There  is  consolation  in  that  assurance,  Mr.  Muir," 
said  Mabel,  laughing,  "whatever  there  maybe  in  your 
other  assurance;  for  I  confess  I  should  prefer  being  even 
a  fourth-rate  beauty  to  being  a  fourth  wife." 

So  saying  she  tripped  away,  leaving  the  quartermaster 
to  meditate  on  his  success.  Mabel  had  been  induced  to 
use  her  female  means  of  defense  thus  freely,  partly  be 
cause  her  suitor  had  of  late  been  so  pointed  as  to  stand  in 
need  of  a  pretty  strong  repulse,  and  partly  on  account  of 
his  innuendoes  against  Jasper  and  the  Pathfinder.  Though 
full  of  spirit  and  quick  of  intellect,  she  was  not  naturally 
pert;  but  on  the  present  occasion  she  thought  circum 
stances  called  for  more  than  usual  decision.  When  she 
left  her  companion,  therefore,  she  believed  she  was  now 
finally  released  from  attentions  which  she  thought  as  ill- 
bestowed  as  they  were  certainly  disagreeable.  Not  so, 
however,  with  David  Muir;  accustomed  to  rebuffs,  and 
familiar  with  the  virtue  of  perseverance,  he  saw  no  reason 
to  despair,  though  the  half-menacing,  half-self-satisfied 
manner  in  which  he  shook  his  head  towards  the  retreating 
girl  might  have  betrayed  designs  as  sinister  as  they  were 
determined.  While  he  was  thus  occupied,  the  Pathfinder 
approached,  and  got  within  a  few  feet  of  him  unseen. 

"  'Twill  never  do,  quartermaster,  'twill  never  do," 
commenced  the  latter,  laughing  in  his  noiseless  way;  "she 


THE  PATHFINDER  299 

is  young  and  active,  and  none  but  a  quick  foot  can  overtake 
her.  They  tell  me  you  are  her  suitor,  if  you  are  not  her 
follower." 

"And  I  hear  the  same  of  yourself,  man,  though  the 
presumption  would  be  so  great  that  I  scarcely  can  think 
it  true." 

"I  fear  you're  right,  I  do;  yes,  I  fear  you're  right — 
when  I  consider  myself,  what  I  am,  how  little  I  know,  and 
how  rude  my  life  has  been,  I  altogether  distrust  my 
claim,  even  to  think  a  moment  of  one  so  tutored,  and 
gay,  and  light  of  heart,  and  delicate — 

"You  forget  handsome,"  coarsely  interrupted  Muir. 

"And  handsome,  too,  I  fear,"  returned  the  meek  and 
self -abased  guide;  "I  might  have  said  handsome  at  once, 
among  her  other  qualities;  for  the  young  fa'n,  just  as  it 
learns  to  bound,  is  not  more  pleasant  to  the  eye  of  the 
hunter  than  Mabel  is  lovely  in  mine.  I  do  indeed  fear 
that  all  the  thoughts  I  have  harbored  about  her  are  vain 
and  presumptuous." 

"If  you  think  this,  my  friend,  of  your  own  accord  and 
natural  modesty,  as  it  might  be,  my  duty  to  you  as  an 
old  fellow-campaigner  compels  me  to  say — 

"Quartermaster,"  interrupted  the  other,  regarding  his 
companion  keenly,  "you  and  I  have  lived  together  much 
behind  the  ramparts  of  forts,  but  very  little  in  the  open 
woods  or  in  front  of  the  enemy." 

"Garrison  or  tent,  it  all  passes  for  part  of  the  same  cam 
paign,  you  know,  Pathfinder;  and  then  my  duty  keeps  me 
much  within  sight  of  the  storehouses,  greatly  contrary  to 
my  inclinations,  as  ye  may  well  suppose,  having  yourself 
the  ardor  of  battle  in  your  temperament.  But  had  ye 
heard  what  Mabel  had  just  been  saying  of  you,  ye'd  no 
think  another  minute  of  making  yourself  agreeable  to  the 
saucy  and  uncompromising  hussy." 

Pathfinder  looked  earnestly  at  the  lieutenant,  for  it 
was  impossible  he  should  not  feel  an  interest  in  what 
might  be  Mabel's  opinion;  but  he  had  too  much  of  the 
innate  and  true  feeling  of  a  gentleman  to  ask  to  hear 
what  another  had  said  of  him.  Muir,  however,  was  not 
to  be  foiled  by  this  self-denial  and  self-respect;  for,  be 
lieving  he  had  a  man  of  great  truth  and  simplicity  to 


300  THE  PATHFINDER 

deal  with,  he  determined  to  practise  on  his  credulity,  as 
one  means  of  getting  rid  of  his  rivalry.  He  therefore 
pursued  the  subject,  as  soon  as  he  perceived  that  his  com 
panion's  self-denial  was  stronger  than  his  curiosity. 

"You  ought  to  know  her  opinion,  Pathfinder,"  he  con 
tinued;  "and  I  think  every  man  ought  to  hear  what  his 
friends  and  acquaintances  say  of  him;  and  so,  by  way  of 
proving  my  own  regard  for  your  character  and  feelings, 
I'll  just  tell  you  in  as  few  words  as  possible.  You  know  that 
Mabel  has  a  wicked,  malicious  way  with  them  eyes  of  her 
own,  when  she  has  a  mind  to  be  hard  upon  one's  feelings." 

"To  me  her  eyes,  Lieutenant  Muir,  have  always  seemed 
winning  and  soft,  though  I  will  acknowledge  that  they 
sometimes  laugh;  yes,  I  have  known  them  to  laugh,  and 
that  right  heartily,  and  with  downright  goodwill." 

"Well,  it  was  just  that  then;  her  eyes  were  laughing 
with  all  their  might,  as  it  were;  and  in  the  midst  of  all 
her  fun,  she  broke  out  with  an  exclamation  to  this  effect — 
I  hope 'twill  no'  hurt  your  sensibility,  Pathfinder?" 

"I  will  not  say,  quartermaster,  I  will  not  say.  Mabel's 
opinion  of  me  is  of  more  account  than  that  of  most 
others. ' ' 

"Then  I'll  no'  tell  ye,  but  just  keep  discretion  on  the 
subject;  and  why  should  a  man  be  telling  another  what 
his  friends  say  of  him,  especially  when  they  happen  to  say 
that  which  may  not  be  pleasant  to  hear?  I'll  not  add 
another  word  to  this  present  communication." 

"I  cannot  make  you  speak,  quartermaster,  if  you  are 
not  so  minded,  and  perhaps  it  is  better  for  me  not  to 
know  Mabel's  opinion,  as  you  seem  to  think  it  is  not  in 
my  favor.  Ah's  me!  if  we  could  be  what  we  wish  to  be, 
instead  of  being  only  what  we  are,  there  would  be  great 
difference  in  our  characters  and  knowledge  and  appear 
ance.  One  may  be  rude  and  coarse  and  ignorant,  and  yet 
happy,  if  he  does  not  know  it;  but  it  is  hard  to  see  our 
own  failings  in  the  strongest  light,  just  as  we  wish  to 
hear  the  least  about  them." 

"That's  just  the  rationale,  as  the  French  say,  of  the 
matter;  and  so  I  was  telling  Mabel,  when  she  ran  away 
and  left  me.  You  noticed  the  manner  in  which  she 
skipped  off  as  you  approached?" 


THE  PATHFINDER  301 

"It  was  very  observable,"  answered  Pathfinder,  draw 
ing  a  long  breath  and  clenching  the  barrel  of  his  rifle  as 
if  the  fingers  would  bury  themselves  in  the  iron. 

"It  was  more  than  observable — it  was  flagrant;  that's 
just  the  word,  and  the  dictionary  wouldn't  supply  a  bet 
ter,  after  an  hour's  search.  Well,  you  must  know,  Path 
finder — for  I  cannot  reasonably  deny  you  the  gratification 
of  hearing  this — so  you  must  know  the  minx  bounded  off 
in  that  manner  in  preference  to  hearing  what  I  had  to 
say  in  your  justification." 

"And  what  could  you  find  to  say  in  my  behalf,  quarter 
master?" 

"Why,  d'ye  understand,  my  friend,  I  was  ruled  by  cir 
cumstances,  and  no'  ventured  indiscreetly  into  generali 
ties,  but  was  preparing  to  meet  particulars,  as  it  might 
be,  with  particulars.  If  you  were  thought  wild,  half- 
savage,  or  of  a  frontier  formation,  I  could  tell  her,  ye 
know,  that  it  came  of  the  frontier,  wild  and  half-savage 
life  ye'd  led;  and  all  her  objections  must  cease  at  once,  or 
there  would  be  a  sort  of  a  misunderstanding  with  Provi 
dence.  ' ' 

"And  did  you  tell  her  this,  quartermaster?" 

"I'll  no'  swear  to  the  exact  words,  but  the  idea  was 
prevalent  in  my  mind,  ye'll  understand.  The  girl  was 
impatient,  and  would  not  hear  the  half  I  had  to  say;  but 
away  she  skipped,  as  ye  saw  with  your  own  eyes,  Path 
finder,  as  if  her  opinion  were  fully  made  up,  and  she 
cared  to  listen  no  longer.  I  fear  her  mind  may  be  said 
to  have  come  to  its  conclusion." 

"I  fear  it  has  indeed,  quartermaster,  and  her  father, 
after  all,  is  mistaken.  Yes,  yes;  the  sergeant  has  fallen 
into  a  grievous  error." 

"Well,  man,  why  need  ye  lament,  and  undo  all  the 
grand  reputation  ye've  been  so  many  weary  years  mak 
ing?  Shoulder  the  rifle  that  ye  use  so  well,  and  off  into 
the  woods  with  ye,  for  there's  not  the  female  breathing 
that  is  worth  a  heavy  heart  for  a  minute,  as  I  know  from 
experience.  Tak'  the  word  of  one  who  knows  the  sax, 
and  has  had  two  wives,  that  women,  after  all,  are  very 
much  the  sort  of  creatures  we  do  not  imagine  them 
to  be.  Now,  if  you  would  really  mortify  Mabel,  here 


302  THE  PATHFINDER 

is  as  glorious  an  occasion  as  any  rejected  lover  could 
desire." 

"The  last  wish,  I  have  lieutenant,  would  be  to  mortify 
Mabel." 

"Well,  ye'll  come  to  that  in  the  end,  notwithstanding; 
for  it's  human  nature  to  desire  to  give  unpleasant  feel 
ings  to  them  that  give  unpleasant  feelings  to  us.  But  a 
better  occasion  never  offered  to  make  your  friends  love 
you,  than  is  to  be  had  at  this  very  moment,  and  that 
is  the  certain  means  of  causing  one's  enemies  to  envy 
us." 

"Quartermaster,  Mabel  is  not  my  inimy;  and  if  she 
was,  the  last  thing  I  could  desire  would  be  to  give  her 
an  uneasy  moment. ' ' 

"Ye  say  so,  Pathfinder,  ye  say  so,  and  I  daresay  ye 
think  so;  but  reason  and  nature  are  both  against  you,  as 
ye'll  find  in  the  end.  Ye've  heard  the  saying  of  'love 
me,  love  my  dog;'  well,  now,  that  means,  read  backwards, 
'don't  love  me,  don't  love  my  dog.'  Now,  listen  to  what 
is  in  your  power  to  do.  You  know  we  occupy  an  exceed 
ingly  precarious  and  uncertain  position  here,  almost  in 
the  jaws  of  the  lion,  as  it  were?" 

"Do  you  mean  the  Frenchers  by  the  lion,  and  this 
island  as  his  jaws,  lieutenant?" 

"Metaphorically  only,  my  friend,  for  the  French  are 
no  lions,  and  this  island  is  not  a  jaw — unless,  indeed,  it 
may  prove  to  be,  what  I  greatly  fear  may  come  true,  the 
jaw-bone  of  an  ass." 

Here  the  quartermaster  indulged  in  a  sneering  laugh, 
that  proclaimed  anything  but  respect  and  admiration  for 
his  friend  Lundie's  sagacity  in  selecting  that  particular 
spot  for  his  operations. 

"The  post  is  as  well  chosen  as  any  I  ever  put  foot  in," 
said  Pathfinder,  looking  around  him  as  one  surveys  a 
picture. 

"I'll  no'  deny  it,  I'll  no'  deny  it.  Lundie  is  a  great 
soldier,  in  a  small  way;  and  his  father  was  a  great  laird, 
with  the  same  qualification.  I  was  born  on  the  estate, 
and  have  followed  the  major  so  long  that  I've  got  to  rev 
erence  all  he  says  and  does;  that's  just  my  weakness,  ye'll 
know,  Pathfinder.  Well,  this  post  may  be  the  post  of  an 


THE  PATHFINDER  303 

ass,  or  of  a  Solomon,  as  men  fancy;  but  it's  most  critically 
placed,  as  is  apparent  by  all  Lundie's  precautions  and  in 
junctions.  There  are  savages  out  scouting  through  these 
Thousand  Islands  and  over  the  forest,  searching  for  this 
very  spot,  as  is  known  to  Lundie  himself,  on  certain  in 
formation;  and  the  greatest  service  you  can  render  the 
55th  is  to  discover  their  trails  and  lead  them  off  on  a  false 
scent.  Unhappily  Sergeant  Dunham  has  taken  up  the 
notion  that  the  danger  is  to  be  apprehended  from  up 
stream,  because  Frontenac  lies  above  us;  whereas  all  ex 
perience  tells  us  that  Indians  come  on  the  side  which  is 
most  contrary  to  reason,  and,  consequently,  are  to  be  ex 
pected  from  below.  Take  your  canoe,  therefore,  and  go 
down-stream  among  the  islands,  that  we  may  have  notice 
if  any  danger  approaches  from  that  quarter. ' ' 

"The  Big  Sarpent  is  on  the  lookout  in  that  quarter; 
and  as  he  knows  the  station  well,  no  doubt  he  will  give  us 
timely  notice,  should  any  wish  to  sarcumvent  us  in  that 
direction." 

"He  is  but  an  Indian,  after  all,  Pathfinder;  and  this  is 
an  affair  that  calls  for  the  knowledge  of  a  white  man. 
Lundie  will  be  eternally  grateful  to  the  man  who  shall 
help  this  little  enterprise  to  come  off  with  flying  colors. 
To  tell  you  the  truth,  my  friend,  he  is  conscious  it  should 
never  have  been  attempted;  but  he  has  too  much  of  the 
old  laird's  obstinacy  about  him  to  own  an  error,  though  it 
be  as  manifest  as  the  morning  star." 

The  quartermaster  then  continued  to  reason  with  his 
companion,  in  order  to  induce  him  to  quit  the  island  with 
out  delay,  using  such  arguments  as  first  suggested  them 
selves,  sometimes  contradicting  himself,  and  not  unfre- 
quently  urging  at  one  moment  a  motive  that  at  the  next 
was  directly  opposed  by  another.  The  Pathfinder,  simple 
as  he  was,  detected  these  flaws  in  the  lieutenant's  philos 
ophy,  though  he  was  far  from  suspecting  that  they  pro 
ceeded  from  a  desire  to  clear  the  coast  of  Mabel's  suitor. 
He  did  not  exactly  suspect  the  secret  objects  of  Muir,  but 
he  was  far  from  being  blind  to  his  sophistry.  The  result 
was  that  the  two  parted,  after  a  long  dialogue,  uncon 
vinced,  and  distrustful  of  each  other's  motives,  though 
the  distrust  of  the  guide,  like  all  that  was  connected  with 


304  THE  PATHFINDER 

the  man,  partook  of  his  own  upright,  disinterested,  and 
ingenuous  nature. 

A  conference  that  took  place  soon  after  between  Ser 
geant  Dunham  and  the  lieutenant  led  to  more  conse 
quences.  When  it  was  ended,  secret  orders  were  issued 
to  the  men,  the  blockhouse  was  taken  possession  of,  the 
huts  were  occupied,  and  one  accustomed  to  the  movements 
of  soldiers  might  have  detected  that  an  expedition  was  in 
the  wind.  In  fact,  just  as  the  sun  was  setting,  the  ser 
geant,  who  had  been  much  occupied  at  what  was  called 
the  harbor,  came  into  his  own  hut,  followed  by  Pathfinder 
and  Cap;  and  as  he  took  his  seat  at  the  neat  table  which 
Mabel  had  prepared  for  him,  he  opened  the  budget  of  his 
intelligence. 

"You  are  likely  to  be  of  some  use  here,  my  child,"  the 
old  soldier  commenced,  "as  this  tidy  and  well-ordered 
supper  can  testify;  and  I  trust,  when  the  proper  moment 
arrives,  you  will  show  yourself  to  be  the  descendant  of 
those  who  know  how  to  face  their  enemies." 

"You  do  not  expect  me,  dear  father,  to  play  Joan  of 
Arc,  and  to  lead  the  men  to  battle?" 

"Play  whom,  child?  Did  you  ever  hear  of  the  person 
Mabel  mentions,  Pathfinder?" 

"Not  I,  sergeant;  but  what  of  that?  I  am  ignorant 
and  unedicated,  and  it  is  too  great  a  pleasure  to  me  to 
listen  to  her  voice,  and  take  in  her  words,  to  be  particular 
about  persons. ' ' 

' '  I  know  her,  "said  Cap  decidedly ;  '  'she  sailed  a  priva 
teer  out  of  Morlaix  in  the  last  war;  and  good  cruises  she 
made  of  them." 

Mabel  blushed  at  having  inadvertently  made  an  allusion 
that  went  beyond  her  father's  reading,  to  say  nothing  of 
her  uncle's  dogmatism,  and,  perhaps,  a  little  at  the  Path 
finder's  simple,  ingenuous  earnestness;  but  she  did  not 
forbear  the  less  to  smile. 

"Why,  father,  I  am  not  expected  to  fall  in  with  the 
men,  and  to  help  defend  the  island?" 

"And  yet  women  have  often  done  such  things  in  this 
quarter  of  the  world,  girl,  as  our  friend,  the  Pathfinder 
here,  will  tell  you.  But  lest  you  should  be  surprised  at 
not  seeing  us  when  you  awake  in  the  morning,  it  is  proper 


THE  PATHFINDER  305 

that  I  now  tell  you  we  intend  to  march  in  the  course  of 
this  very  night." 

"We,  father!  and  leave  me  and  Jennie  on  this  island 
alone?" 

"No,  my  daughter;  not  quite  as  unmilitary  as  that. 
We  shall  leave  Lieutenant  Muir,  brother  Cap,  Corporal 
M'Nab,  and  three  men  to  compose  the  garrison  during 
our  absence.  Jennie  will  remain  with  you  in  this  hut, 
and  brother  Cap  will  occupy  my  place." 

"And  Mr.  Muir?"  said  Mabel,  half  unconscious  of  what 
she  uttered,  though  she  foresaw  a  great  deal  of  unpleasant 
persecution  in  the  arrangement. 

"Why,  he  can  make  love  to  you,  if  you  like  it,  girl; 
for  he  is  an  amorous  youth,  and,  having  already  disposed 
of  four  wives,  is  impatient  to  show  how  much  he  honors 
their  memories  by  taking  a  fifth." 

"The  quartermaster  tells  me,"  said  Pathfinder  inno 
cently,  "that  when  a  man's  feelings  have  been  harassed  by 
so  many  losses,  there  is  no  wiser  way  to  soothe  them  than 
by  ploughing  up  the  soil  anew,  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
leave  no  traces  of  what  have  gone  over  it  before." 

"Ay,  that  is  just  the  difference  between  ploughing  and 
harrowing,"  returned  the  sergeant,  with  a  grim  smile. 
"But  let  him  tell  Mabel  his  mind,  and  there  will  be  an 
end  of  his  suit.  I  very  well  know  that  my  daughter  will 
never  be  the  wife  of  Lieutenant  Muir." 

This  was  said  in  a  way  that  was  tantamount  to  declar 
ing  that  no  daughter  of  his  ever  should  become  the  wife 
of  the  person  in  question.  Mabel  had  colored,  trembled, 
half  laughed,  and  looked  uneasy;  but,  rallying  her  spirit, 
she  said,  in  a  voice  so  cheerful  as  completely  to  conceal 
her  agitation,  "But,  father,  we  might  better  wait  until 
Mr.  Muir  manifests  a  wish  that  your  daughter  would 
have  him,  or  rather  a  wish  to  have  your  daughter,  lest  we 
get  the  fable  of  sour  grapes  thrown  into  our  faces. ' ' 

"And  what  is  that  fable,  Mabel?"  eagerly  demanded 
Pathfinder,  who  was  anything  but  learned  in  the  ordinary 
lore  of  white  men.  "Tell  it  to  us,  in  your  own  pretty 
way;  I  daresay  the  sergeant  never  heard  it." 

Mabel  repeated  the  well-known  fable,  and,  as  her  suitor 
had  desired,  in  her  own  pretty  way,  which  was  a  way  to 


306  THE  PATHFINDER 

keep  his  eyes  riveted  on  her  face,  and  the  whole  of  his 
honest  countenance  covered  with  a  smile. 

"That  was  like  a  fox!"  cried  Pathfinder,  when  she  had 
ceased;  "ay,  and  like  a  Mingo,  too,  cunning  and  cruel; 
that  is  the  way  with  both  the  riptyles.  As  to  grapes, 
they  are  sour  enough  in  this  part  of  the  country,  even  to 
them  that  can  get  at  them,  though  I  daresay  there  are 
seasons  and  times  and  places  where  they  are  sourer  to 
them  that  can't.  I  should  judge,  now,  my  scalp  is  very 
sour  in  Mingo  eyes." 

"The  sour  grapes  will  be  the  other  way,  child,  and  it 
is  Mr.  Muir  who  will  make  the  complaint.  You  would 
never  marry  that  man,  Mabel?" 

"Not  she,"  put  in  Cap;  "a  fellow  who  is  only  half  a 
soldier  after  all.  The  story  of  them  there  grapes  is  quite 
a  circumstance." 

"I  think  little  of  marrying  anyone,  dear  father  and 
dear  uncle,  and  would  rather  talk  about  it  less,  if  you 
please.  But,  did  I  think  of  marrying  at  all,  I  do  believe 
a  man  whose  affections  have  already  been  tried  by  three 
or  four  wives  would  scarcely  be  my  choice." 

The  sergeant  nodded  at  the  guide,  as  much  as  to  say, 
You  see  how  the  land  lies;  and  then  he  had  sufficient  con 
sideration  for  his  daughter's  feelings  to  change  the  subject. 

"Neither  you  nor  Mabel,  brother  Cap,"  he  resumed, 
"can  have  any  legal  authority  with  the  little  garrison  I 
leave  behind  on  the  island;  but  you  may  counsel  and  in 
fluence.  Strictly  speaking,  Corporal  M'Nab  will  be  the 
commanding  officer,  and  I  have  endeavored  to  impress  him 
with  a  sense  of  his  dignity,  lest  he  might  give  way  too 
much  to  the  superior  rank  of  Lieutenant  Muir,  who,  be 
ing  a  volunteer,  can  have  no  right  to  interfere  with  the 
duty.  I  wish  you  to  sustain  the  corporal,  brother  Cap; 
for  should  the  quartermaster  once  break  through  the  reg 
ulations  of  the  expedition,  he  may  pretend  to  command 
me,  as  well  as  M'Nab." 

"More  particularly,  should  Mabel  really  cut  him  adrift 
while  you  are  absent.  Of  course,  sergeant,  you'll  leave 

everything  that  is  afloat  under  my  care?  The  most  d ble 

confusion  has  grown  out  of  misunderstandings  between 
commanders-in-chief,  ashore  and  afloat." 


THE  PATHFINDER  307 

"In  one  sense,  brother,  though  in  a  general  way,  the 
corporal  is  commander-in-chief.  The  corporal  must  com 
mand;  but  you  can  counsel  freely,  particularly  in  all  mat 
ters  relating  to  the  boats,  of  which  I  shall  leave  one 
behind  to  secure  your  retreat,  should  there  be  occasion. 
I  know  the  corporal  well ;  he  is  a  brave  man  and  a  good 
soldier;  and  one  that  may  be  relied  on,  if  the  Santa  Cruz 
can  be  kept  from  him.  But  then  he  is  a  Scotchman,  and 
will  be  liable  to  the  quartermaster's  influence,  against 
which  I  desire  both  you  and  Mabel  to  be  on  your  guard." 

"But  why  leave  us  behind,  dear  father?  I  have  come 
thus  far  to  be  a  comfort  to  you,  and  why  not  go  farther?" 

"You  are  a  good  girl,  Mabel,  and  very  like  the  Dun 
hams.  But  you  must  halt  here.  We  shall  leave  the  island 
to-morrow,  before  the  day  dawns,  in  order  not  to  be  seen 
by  any  prying  eyes  coming  from  our  cover,  and  we  shall 
take  the  two  largest  boats,  leaving  you  the  other  and  one 
bark  canoe.  We  are  about  to  go  into  the  channel  used  by 
the  French,  where  we  shall  lie  in  wait,  perhaps  a  week, 
to  intercept  their  supply  boats,  which  are  about  to  pass 
up  on  their  way  to  Frontenac,  loaded  in  particular  with  a 
heavy  amount  of  Indian  goods. " 

"Have  you  looked  well  to  your  papers,  brother?"  Cap 
anxiously  demanded.  "Of  course  you  know  a  capture 
on  the  high  seas  is  piracy,  unless  your  boat  is  regularly 
commissioned,  either  as  a  public  or  a  private  armed 
cruiser." 

"I  have  the  honor  to  hold  the  colonel's  appointment  as 
sergeant-major  of  the  55th,"  returned  the  other,  drawing 
himself  up  with  dignity,  "and  that  will  be  sufficient  even 
for  the  French  king.  If  not,  I  have  Major  Duncan's 
written  orders." 

"No  papers,  then,  for  a  warlike. cruiser?" 

"They  must  suffice,  brother,  as  I  have  no  other.  It  is  of 
vast  importance  to  his  Majesty's  interests,  in  this  part  of 
the  world,  that  the  boats  in  question  should  be  captured 
and  carried  into  Oswego.  They  contain  the  blankets, 
trinkets,  rifles,  ammunition,  in  short,  all  the  stores  with 
which  the  French  bribe  their  accursed  savage  allies  to 
commit  their  unholy  acts,  setting  at  nought  our  holy  re 
ligion  and  its  precepts,  the  laws  of  humanity,  and  all 


308  THE  PATHFINDER 

that  13  sacred  and  dear  among  men.  By  cutting  off  these 
supplies  we  shall  derange  their  plans,  and  gain  time  on 
them;  for  the  articles  cannot  be  sent  across  the  ocean 
again  this  autumn." 

"But,  father,  does  not  his  Majesty  employ  Indians 
also?"  asked  Mabel,  with  some  curiosity. 

"Certainly,  girl,  and  he  has  a  right  to  employ  them — 
God  bless  him!  It's  a  very  different  thing  whether  an 
Englishman  or  a  Frenchman  employs  a  savage,  as  every 
body  can  understand." 

"But,  father,  I  cannot  see  that  this  alters  the  case.  If 
it  be  wrong  in  a  Frenchman  to  hire  savages  to  fight  his 
enemies,  it  would  seem  to  be  equally  wrong  in  an  Eng 
lishman.  You  will  admit  this,  Pathfinder?" 

"It's  reasonable,  it's  reasonable;  and  I  have  never  been 
one  of  them  that  has  raised  a  cry  ag'in  the  Frenchers  for 
doing  the  very  thing  we  do  ourselves.  Still  it  is  worse  to 
consort  with  a  Mingo  than  to  consort  with  a  Delaware. 
If  any  of  that  just  tribe  were  left,  I  should  think  it  no 
sin  to  send  them  out  ag'in  the  foe." 

"And  yet  they  scalp  and  slay  young  and  old,  women 
and  children!" 

"They  have  their  gifts,  Mabel,  and  are  not  to  be  blamed 
for  following  them;  natur'  is  natur',  though  the  different 
tribes  have  different  ways  of  showing  it.  For  my  part  I 
am  white,  and  endeavor  to  maintain  white  feelings. ' ' 

"This  is  all  unintelligible  to  me,"  answered  Mabel. 
"What  is  right  in  King  George,  it  would  seem,  ought  to 
be  right  in  King  Louis." 

As  all  parties,  Mabel  excepted,  seemed  satisfied  with  the 
course  the  discussion  had  taken,  no  one  appeared  to  think 
it  necessary  to  pursue  the  subject.  Supper  was  no  sooner 
ended  than  the  sergeant  dismissed  his  guests,  and  then 
held  a  long  and  confidential  dialogue  with  his  daughter. 
He  was  little  addicted  to  giving  way  to  the  gentler  emo 
tions,  but  the  novelty  of  his  present  situation  awakened 
feelings  that  he  was  unused  to  experience.  The  soldier 
or  the  sailor,  so  long  as  he  acts  under  the  immediate  sup 
ervision  of  a  superior,  thinks  little  of  the  risks  he  runs, 
but  the  moment  he  feels  the  responsibility  of  command, 
all  the  hazards  of  his  undertaking  begin  to  associate  them- 


THE  PATHFINDER  309 

selves  in  his  mind  with  the  chances  of  success  or  failure. 
While  he  dwells  less  on  his  own  personal  danger,  perhaps, 
than  when  that  is  the  principal  consideration,  he  has  more 
lively  general  perceptions  of  all  the  risks,  and  submits 
more  to  the  influence  of  the  feelings  which  doubt  creates. 
Such  was  now  the  case  with  Sergeant  Dunham,  who,  in 
stead  of  looking  forward  to  victory  as  certain,  according 
to  his  usual  habits,  began  to  feel  the  possibility  that  he 
might  be  parting  with  his  child  forever. 

Never  before  had  Mabel  struck  him  as  so  beautiful  as 
she  appeared  that  night.  Possibly  she  never  had  dis 
played  so  many  engaging  qualities  to  her  father;  for  con 
cern  on  his  account  had  begun  to  be  active  in  her  breast; 
and  then  her  sympathies  met  with  unusual  encouragement 
through  those  which  had  been  stirred  up  in  the  sterner 
bosom  of  the  veteran.  She  had  never  been  entirely  at  her 
ease  with  her  parent,  the  great  superiority  of  her  educa 
tion  creating  a  sort  of  chasm,  which  had  been  widened  by 
the  military  severity  of  manner  he  had  acquired  by  deal 
ing  so  long  with  beings  who  could  only  be  kept  in  subjec 
tion  by  an  unremitted  discipline.  On  the  present  occasion, 
however,  the  conversation  between  the  father  and  daughter 
became  more  confidential  than  usual,  until  Mabel  rejoiced 
to  find  that  it  was  gradually  becoming  endearing,  a  state 
of  feeling  that  the  warm-hearted  girl  had  silently  pined 
for  in  vain  ever  since  her  arrival. 

"Then  mother  was  about  my  height?"  Mabel  said,  as 
she  held  one  of  her  father's  hands  in  both  her  own,  look 
ing  up  into  his  face  with  humid  eyes.  "I  had  thought 
her  taller." 

"That  is  the  way  with  most  children  who  get  a  habit 
of  thinking  of  their  parents  with  respect,  until  they  fancy 
them  larger  and  more  commanding  than  they  actually  are. 
Your  mother,  Mabel,  was  as  near  your  height  as  one 
woman  could  be  to  another. ' ' 

"And  her  eyes,  father?" 

"Her  eyes  were  like  thine,  child,  too;  blue  and  soft, 
and  inviting-like,  though  hardly  so  laughing." 

"Mine  will  never  laugh  again,  dearest  father,  if  you  do 
not  take  care  of  yourself  in  this  expedition." 

"Thank you,  Mabel — hem — thank  you,  child;  but  I  must 


310  THE  PATHFINDER 

do  my  duty.  I  wish  I  had  seen  you  comfortably  married 
before  we  left  Oswego;  my  mind  would  be  easier." 

"Married! — to  whom,  father?" 

"You  know  the  man  I  wish  you  to  love.  You  may  meet 
with  many  gayer,  and  many  dressed  in  finer  clothes;  but 
with  none  with  so  true  a  heart  and  just  a  mind." 

"None  father?" 

"I  know  of  none;  in  these  particulars  Pathfinder  has 
few  equals  at  least. ' ' 

"But  I  need  not  marry  at  all.  You  are  single,  and  I 
can  remain  to  take  care  of  you. ' ' 

"God  bless  you,  Mabel!  I  know  you  would,  and  I  do 
not  say  that  the  feeling  is  not  right,  for  I  suppose  it  is; 
and  yet  I  believe  there  is  another  that  is  more  so." 

"That  can  be  more  right  than  to  honor  one's  parents?" 

"It  is  just  as  right  to  honor  one's  husband,  my  dear 
child." 

"But  I  have  no  husband,  father." 

"Then  take  one  as  soon  as  possible,  that  you  may  have 
a  husband  to  honor.  I  cannot  live  forever,  Mabel,  but 
must  drop  off  in  the  course  of  nature  ere  long,  if  I  am  not 
carried  off  in  the  course  of  war.  You  are  young,  and  may 
yet  live  long;  and  it  is  proper  that  you  should  have  a 
male  protector,  who  can  see  you  safe  through  life,  and  take 
care  of  you  in  age,  as  you  now  wish  to  take  care  of  me." 

"And  do  you  think,  father,"  said  Mabel,  playing  with 
his  sinewy  fingers  with  her  own  little  hands,  and  looking 
down  at  them,  as  if  they  were  subjects  of  intense  interest, 
though  her  lips  curled  in  a  slight  smile  as  the  words  came 
from  them — "and  do  you  think,  father  that  Pathfinder  is 
just  the  man  to  do  this?  Is  he  not  within  ten  or  twelve 
years,  as  old  as  yourself?" 

"What  of  that?  His  life  has  been  one  of  moderation 
and  exercise,  and  years  are  less  to  be  counted,  girl,  than 
constitution.  Do  you  know  another  more  likely  to  be  your 
protector?" 

Mabel  did  not;  at  least  another  who  had  expressed  a 
desire  to  that  effect,  whatever  might  have  been  her  hopes 
and  her  wishes. 

"Nay,  father,  we  are  not  talking  of  another,  but  of 
the  Pathfinder,"  she  answered  evasively.  "If  he  were 


THE  PATHFINDER  311 

younger,  I  think  it  would  be  more  natural  for  me  to  think 
of  him  for  a  husband." 

"'Tis  all  in  the  constitution,  I  tell  you,  child;  Pathfinder 
is  a  younger  man  than  half  our  subalterns. ' ' 

"He  is  certainly  younger  than  one,  sir — Lieutenant 
Muir." 

Mabel's  laugh  was  joyous  and  light-hearted,  as  if  just 
then  she  felt  no  care. 

"That  he  is — young  enough  to  be  his  grandson;  he  is 
younger  in  years,  too.  God  forbid,  Mabel,  that  you  should 
ever  become  an  officer's  lady,  at  least  until  you  are  an 
officer's  daughter!" 

"There  will  be  little  fear  of  that,  father,  if  I  marry 
Pathfinder,"  returned  the  girl,  looking  up  archly  in  the 
sergeant's  face  again. 

"Not  by  the  king's  commission,  perhaps,  though  the 
man  is  even  now  the  friend  and  companion  of  generals.  I 
think  I  could  die  happy,  Mabel,  if  you  were  his  wife." 

"Father!" 

"'Tis  a  sad  thing  to  go  into  battle  with  the  weight  of 
an  unprotected  daughter  laid  upon  the  heart." 

"I  would  give  the  world  to  lighten  yours  of  its  load,  my 
dear  sir." 

"It  might  be  done,"  said  the  sergeant,  looking  fondly 
at  his  child;  "though  I  could  not  wish  to  put  a  burthen 
on  yours  in  order  to  do  so." 

The  voice  was  deep  and  tremulous,  and  never  before 
had  Mabel  witnessed  such  a  show  of  affection  in  her  par 
ent.  The  habitual  sternness  of  the  man  lent  an  interest 
to  his  emotions  which  they  might  otherwise  have  wanted, 
and  the  daughter's  heart  yearned  to  relieve  the  father's 
mind. 

"Father,  speak  plainly!"  she  cried,  almost  convulsively. 

"Nay,  Mabel,  it  might  not  be  right;  your  wishes  and 
mine  may  be  very  different." 

"I  have  no  wishes — know  nothing  of  what  you  mean. 
Would  you  spea.k  of  my  future  marriage?" 

"If  I  could  see  you  promised  to  Pathfinder— know  that 
you  were  pledged  to  become  his  wife,  let  my  own  fate  be 
what  it  might,  I  think  I  could  die  happy.  But  I  will  ask 
no  pledge  of  you,  my  child;  I  will  not  force  you  to  do 


312  THE  PATHFINDER 

what  you  might  repent.  Kiss  me,  Mabel,  and  go  to  your 
bed." 

Had  Sergeant  Dunham  exacted  of  Mabel  the  pledge  that 
he  really  so  much  desired,  he  would  have  encountered  a  re 
sistance  that  he  might  have  found  it  difficult  to  overcome; 
but,  by  letting  nature  have  its  course,  he  enlisted  a  pow 
erful  ally  on  his  side,  and  the  warm-hearted,  generous- 
minded  Mabel  was  ready  to  concede  to  her  affections  much 
more  than  she  would  ever  have  yielded  to  menace.  At 
that  touching  moment  she  thought  only  of  her  parent, 
who  was  about  to  quit  her,  perhaps  forever;  and  all  of 
that  ardent  love  for  him,  which  had  possibly  been  as  much 
fed  by  the  imagination  as  by  anything  else,  but  which  had 
received  a  little  check  by  the  restrained  intercourse  of  the 
last  fortnight,  now  returned  with  a  force  that  was  in 
creased  by  pure  and  intense  feeling.  Her  father  seemed 
all  in  all  to  her,  and  to  render  him  happy  there  was  no 
proper  sacrifice  which  she  was  not  ready  to  make.  One 
painful,  rapid,  almost  wild  gleam  of  thought  shot  across 
the  brain  of  the  girl,  and  her  resolution  wavered;  but  en 
deavoring  to  trace  the  foundation  of  the  pleasing  hope  on 
which  itwas  based,  she  found  nothing  positive  to  support  it. 
Trained  like  a  woman  to  subdue  her  most  ardent  feelings, 
her  thoughts  reverted  to  her  father,  and  to  the  blessings 
that  awaited  the  child  who  yielded  to  a  parent's  wishes. 

"Father,"  she  said  quietly,  almost  with  a  holy  calm, 
"God  blesses  the  dutiful  daughter." 

"He  will,  Mabel;  we  have  the  Good  Book  for  that." 

"I  will  marry  whomever  you  desire." 

"Nay,  nay,  Mabel,  you  may  have  a  choice  of  your 
own — 

"I  have  no  choice;  that  is,  none  have  asked  me  to  have 
a  choice,  but  Pathfinder  and  Mr.  Muir;  and  between  them, 
neither  of  us  would  hesitate.  No,  father;  I  will  marry 
whomever  you  may  choose. ' ' 

"Thou  knowest  my  choice,  beloved  child;  none  other 
can  make  thee  as  happy  as  the  noble-hearted  guide. ' ' 

"Well,  then,  if  he  wish  it,  if  he  ask  me  again — for, 
father,  you  would  not  have  me  offer  myself,  or  that  any 
one  should  do  that  office  for  me,"  and  the  blood  stole 
across  the  pallid  cheeks  of  Mabel  as  she  spoke,  for  high 


THE  PATHFINDER  313 

and  generous  resolutions  had  driven  back  the  stream  of 
life  to  her  heart;  "no  one  must  speak  to  him  of  it;  but 
if  he  seek  me  again,  and,  knowing  all  that  a  true  girl 
ought  to  tell  the  man  she  marries,  he  then  wishes  to  make 
me  his  wife,  I  will  be  his." 

"Bless  you,  my  Mabel!  God  in  heaven  bless  you,  and 
reward  you  as  a  pious  daughter  deserves  to  be  rewarded ! ' ' 

"Yes,  father,  put  your  mind  at  peace;  go  on  this  ex 
pedition  with  a  light  heart,  and  trust  in  God.  For  me 
you  will  have  now  no  care.  In  the  spring — I  must  have  a 
little  time,  father — but  in  the  spring  I  will  marry  Path 
finder,  if  that  noble-hearted  hunter  shall  then  desire  it." 

"Mabel,  he  loves  you  as  I  loved  your  mother.  I  have 
seen  him  weep  like  a  child  when  speaking  of  his  feelings 
towards  you." 

"Yes,  I  believe  it;  I've  seen  enough  to  satisfy  me  that 
he  thinks  better  of  me  than  I  deserve;  and  certainly  the 
man  is  not  living  for  whom  I  have  more  respect  than  for 
Pathfinder;  not  even  for  you,  dear  father." 

"That  is  as  it  should  be,  child,  and  the  union  will  be 
blessed.  May  I  not  tell  Pathfinder  this?" 

"I  would  rather  you  would  not,  father.  Let  it  come 
of  itself,  come  naturally."  The  smile  that  illuminated 
Mabel's  handsome  face  was  angelic,  as  even  her  parent 
thought,  though  one  better  practised  in  detecting  the 
passing  emotions,  as  they  betray  themselves  in  the  coun 
tenance,  might  have  traced  something  wild  and  unnatural 
in  it  "No,  no,  we  must  let  things  take  their  course; 
father,  you  have  my  solemn  promise." 

"That  will  do,  that  will  do,  Mabel;  now  kiss  me.  God 
bless  and  protect  you,  girl !  you  are  a  good  daughter. ' ' 

Mabel  threw  herself  into  her  father's  arms — it  was  the 
first  time  in  her  life — and  sobbed  on  his  bosom  like  an 
infant.  The  stern  soldier's  heart  was  melted,  and  the 
tears  of  the  two  mingled;  but  Sergeant  Dunham  soon 
started,  as  if  ashamed  of  himself,  and,  gently  forcing  his 
daughter  from  him,  he  bade  her  good  night,  and  sought 
his  pallet.  Mabel  went  sobbing  to  the  rude  corner  that 
had  been  prepared  for  her  reception;  and  in  a  few  minutes 
the  hut  was  undisturbed  by  any  sound,  save  the  heavy 
breathing  of  the  veteran. 


CHAPTER  XX 

"  Wandering,  I  found  on  my  ruinous  walk. 

By  the  dial  stone,  aged  and  green, 
One  rose  of  the  wilderness,  left  on  its  stalk, 
To  mark  where  a  garden  had  been." 

—CAMPBELL. 

IT  was  not  only  broad  daylight  when  Mabel  awoke,  but 
the  sun  had  actually  been  up  some  time.  Her  sleep  had 
been  tranquil,  for  she  rested  on  an  approving  conscience, 
and  fatigue  contributed  to  render  it  sweet;  and  no  sound 
of  those  who  had  been  so  early  in  motion  had  interfered 
with  her  rest.  Springing  to  her  feet  and  rapidly  dressing 
herself,  the  girl  was  soon  breathing  the  fragrance  of  the 
morning  in  the  open  air.  For  the  first  time  she  was  sen 
sibly  struck  with  the  singular  beauties,  as  well  as  with 
the  profound  retirement,  of  her  present  situation.  The 
day  proved  to  be  one  of  those  of  the  autumnal  glory,  so 
common  to  a  climate  that  is  more  abused  than  appreciated, 
and  its  influence  was  every  way  inspiriting  and  genial. 
Mabel  was  benefited  by  this  circumstance;  for,  as  she 
fancied,  her  heart  was  heavy  on  account  of  the  dangers  to 
which  a  father,  whom  she  now  began  to  love  as  women 
love  when  confidence  is  created,  was  exposed. 

But  the  island  seemed  absolutely  deserted.  The  previous 
night,  the  bustle  of  the  arrival  had  given  the  spot  an  ap 
pearance  of  life  which  was  now  entirely  gone;  and  our 
heroine  had  turned  her  eyes  nearly  around  on  every  object 
in  sight,  before  she  caught  a  view  of  a  single  human  be 
ing  to  remove  the  sense  of  utter  solitude.  Then,  indeed, 
she  beheld  all  who  were  left  behind,  collected  in  a  group 
around  a  fire  which  might  be  said  to  belong  to  the  camp. 
The  person  of  her  uncle,  to  whom  she  was  so  much  accus 
tomed,  reassured  Mabel;  and  she  examined  the  remainder 
with  a  curiosity  natural  to  her  situation.  Besides  Cap 
and  the  quartermaster,  there  were  the  corporal,  the  three 
soldiers,  and  the  woman  who  was  cooking.  The  huts  were 

314 


THE  PATHFINDER  315 

silent  and  empty;  and  the  low  but  tower-like  summit  of 
the  blockhouse  rose  above  the  bushes,  by  which  it  was  half 
concealed,  in  picturesque  beauty.  The  sun  was  just  cast 
ing  its  brightness  into  the  open  places  of  the  glade,  and 
the  vault  over  her  head  was  impending  in  the  soft  sublim 
ity  of  the  blue  void.  Not  a  cloud  was  visible,  and  she 
secretly  fancied  the  circumstance  might  be  taken  as  a  har 
binger  of  peace  and  security. 

Perceiving  that  all  the  others  were  occupied  with  that 
great  concern  of  human  nature,  a  breakfast,  Mabel  walked, 
unobserved,  towards  an  end  of  the  island  where  she  was 
completely  shut  out  of  view  by  the  trees  and  bushes.  Here 
she  got  a  stand  on  the  very  edge  of  the  water,  by  forcing 
aside  the  low  branches,  and  stood  watching  the  barely 
perceptible  flow  and  re-flow  of  the  miniature  waves  which 
laved  the  shore;  a  sort  of  physical  echo  to  the  agitation 
that  prevailed  on  the  lake  fifty  miles  above  her.  The 
glimpses  of  natural  scenery  that  offered  were  very  soft 
and  pleasing;  and  our  heroine,  who  had  a  quick  eye  for 
all  that  was  lovely  in  nature,  was  not  slow  in  selecting 
the  most  striking  bits  of  landscape.  She  gazed  through 
the  different  vistas  formed  by  the  openings  between  the 
islands,  and  thought  she  had  never  looked  on  aught  more 
lovely. 

While  thus  occupied,  Mabel  was  suddenly  alarmed  by 
fancying  that  she  caught  a  glimpse  of  a  human  form 
among  the  bushes  that  lined  the  shore  of  the  island  which 
lay  directly  before  her.  The  distance  across  the  water 
was  not  a  hundred  yards;  and,  though  she  might  be  mis 
taken,  and  her  fancy  was  wandering  when  the  form  passed 
before  her  sight,  still  she  did  not  think  she  could  be  de 
ceived.  Aware  that  her  sex  would  be  no  protection  against 
a  rifle  bullet,  should  an  Iroquois  get  a  view  of  her,  the 
girl  instinctively  drew  back,  taking  care  to  conceal  her 
person  as  much  as  possible  by  the  leaves,  while  she  kept 
her  own  look  riveted  on  the  opposite  shore,  vainly  waiting 
for  some  time  in  the  expectation  of  the  stranger.  She 
was  about  to  quit  her  post  in  the  bushes  and  hasten  to 
her  uncle,  in  order  to  acquaint  him  of  her  suspicions, 
when  she  saw  the  branch  of  an  alder  thrust  beyond  the 
fringe  of  bushes  on  the  other  island,  and  waved  towards 


316  THE  PATHFINDER 

her  significantly,  and  as  she  fancied  in  token  of  amity. 
This  was  a  breathless  and  a  trying  moment  to  one  as  inex 
perienced  in  frontier  warfare  as  our  heroine;  and  yet  she 
felt  the  great  necessity  that  existed  for  preserving  her 
recollection,  and  of  acting  with  steadiness  and  discretion. 

It  was  one  of  the  peculiarities  of  the  exposure  to  which 
those  who  dwelt  on  the  frontiers  of  America  were  liable, 
to  bring  out  the  moral  qualities  of  the  women  to  a  degree 
which  they  must  themselves,  under  other  circumstances, 
have  believed  they  were  incapable  of  manifesting;  and 
Mabel  well  knew  that  the  borderers  loved  to  dwell  in  their 
legends  on  the  presence  of  mind,  fortitude,  and  spirit  that 
their  wives  and  sisters  had  displayed  under  circumstances 
the  most  trying.  Her  emulation  had  been  awakened  by 
what  she  had  heard  on  such  subjects;  and  it  at  once  struck 
her  that  now  was  the  moment  for  her  to  show  that  she  was 
truly  Sergeant  Dunham's  child.  The  motion  of  the  branch 
was  such  as  she  believed  indicated  amity;  and,  after  a 
moment's  hesitation,  she  broke  off  a  twig,  fastened  it  to 
a  stick,  and,  thrusting  it  through  an  opening,  waved  it  in 
return,  imitating  as  closely  as  possible  the  manner  of  the 
other. 

This  dumb  show  lasted  two  or  three  minutes  on  both 
sides,  when  Mabel  perceived  that  the  bushes  opposite  were 
cautiously  pushed  aside,  and  a  human  face  appeared  at  an 
opening.  A  glance  sufficed  to  let  Mabel  see  that  it  was 
the  countenance  of  a  red-skin,  as  well  as  that  of  a  woman. 
A  second  and  a  better  look  satisfied  her  that  it  was  the 
face  of  the  Dew-of-June,  the  wife  of  Arrowhead.  During 
the  time  she  had  traveled  in  company  with  this  woman, 
Mabel  had  been  won  by  the  gentleness  of  manner,  the  meek 
simplicity,  and  the  mingled  awe  and  affection  with  which 
she  regarded  her  husband.  Once  or  twice  in  the  course 
of  the  journey  she  fancied  the  Tuscarora  had  manifested 
towards  herself  an  unpleasant  degree  of  attention;  and  on 
those  occasions  it  had  struck  her  that  his  wife  exhibited 
sorrow  and  mortification.  As  Mabel,  however,  had  more 
than  compensated  for  any  pain  she  might  in  this  way  un 
intentionally  have  caused  her  companion,  by  her  own  kind 
ness  of  manner  and  attentions,  the  woman  had  shown  much 
attachment  to  her,  and  they  had  parted,  with  a  deep  con- 


THE  PATHFINDER  317 

viction  on  the  mind  of  our  heroine  that  in  the  Dew-of-June 
she  had  lost  a  friend. 

It  is  useless  to  attempt  to  analyze  all  the  ways  by  which 
the  human  heart  is  led  into  confidence.  Such  a  feeling, 
however,  had  the  young  Tuscarora  woman  awakened  in 
the  breast  of  our  heroine;  and  the  latter,  under  the  im 
pression  that  this  extraordinary  visit  was  intended  for  her 
own  good,  felt  every  disposition  to  have  a  closer  commu 
nication.  She  no  longer  hesitated  about  showing  herself 
clear  of  the  bushes,  and  was  not  sorry  to  see  the  Dew-of- 
June  imitate  her  confidence,  by  stepping  fearlessly  out  of 
her  own  cover.  The  two  girls,  for  the  Tuscarora,  though 
married,  was  even  younger  than  Mabel,  now  openly  ex 
changed  signs  of  friendship,  and  the  latter  beckoned  to 
her  friend  to  approach,  though  she  knew  not  the  manner 
herself  in  which  this  object  could  be  effected.  But  the 
Dew-of-June  was  not  slow  in  letting  it  be  seen  that  it  was 
in  her  power;  for,  disappearing  in  a  moment,  she  soon 
showed  herself  again  in  the  end  of  a  bark  canoe,  the  bows 
of  which  she  had  drawn  to  the  edge  of  the  bushes,  and  of 
which  the  body  still  lay  in  a  sort  of  covered  creek.  Mabel 
was  about  to  invite  her  to  cross,  when  her  own  name  was 
called  aloud  in  the  stentorian  voice  of  her  uncle.  Making 
a  hurried  gesture  for  the  Tuscarora  girl  to  conceal  herself, 
Mabel  sprang  from  the  bushes  and  tripped  up  the  glade 
towards  the  sound,  and  perceived  that  the  whole  party  had 
just  seated  themselves  at  breakfast;  Cap  having  barely  put 
his  appetite  under  sufficient  restraint  to  summon  her  to 
join  them.  That  this  was  the  most  favorable  instant  for 
the  interview  flashed  on  the  mind  of  Mabel;  and,  excusing 
herself  on  the  plea  of  not  being  prepared  for  the  meal,  she 
bounded  back  to  the  thicket,  and  soon  renewed  her  com 
munications  with  the  young  Indian  woman. 

Dew-of-June  was  quick  of  comprehension;  and  with  half 
a  dozen  noiseless  strokes  of  the  paddles,  her  canoe  was 
concealed  in  the  bushes  of  Station  Island.  In  another 
minute,  Mabel  held  her  hand,  and  was  leading  her  through 
the  grove  towards  her  own  hut.  Fortunately  the  latter 
was  so  placed  as  to  be  completely  hid  from  the  sight  of 
those  at  the  fire,  and  they  both  entered  it  unseen.  Hastily 
explaining  to  her  guest,  in  the  best  manner  she  could,  the 


318  THE  PATHFINDER 

necessity  of  quitting  her  for  a  short  time,  Mabel,  first 
placing  the  Dew-of-June  in  her  own  room,  with  a  full  cer 
tainty  that  she  would  not  quit  it  until  told  to  do  so,  went 
to  the  fire  and  took  her  seat  among  the  rest,  with  all  the 
composure  it  was  in  her  power  to  command. 

"Late  come,  late  served,  Mabel,"  said  her  uncle,  be 
tween  mouthfuls  of  broiled  salmon;  for  though  the  cookery 
might  be  very  unsophisticated  on  that  remote  frontier, 
the  viands  were  generally  delicious — "late  come,  late 
served;  it  is  a  good  rule,  and  keeps  laggards  up  to  their 
work." 

"I  am  no  laggard,  uncle;  for  I  have  been  stirring 
nearly  an  hour,  and  exploring  our  island." 

"It's  little  you'll  make  o'  that,  Mistress  Mabel,"  put 
in  Muir;  "that's  little  by  nature.  Lundie — or  it  might 
be  better  to  style  him  Major  Duncan  in  this  presence" 
(this  was  said  in  consideration  of  the  corporal  and  the 
common  men,  though  they  were  taking  their  meal  a  little 
apart) — "has  not  added  an  empire  to  his  Majesty's  do 
minions  in  getting  possession  of  this  island,  which  is  likely 
to  equal  that  of  the  celebrated  Sancho  in  revenues  and 
profits — Sancho,  of  whom,  doubtless,  Master  Cap,  you've 
often  been  reading  in  your  leisure  hours,  more  especially 
in  calms  and  moments  of  inactivity. ' ' 

"I  know  the  spot  you  mean,  quartermaster;  Sancho's 
Island — coral  rock,  of  new  formation,  and  as  bad  a  land 
fall,  in  a  dark  night  and  blowing  weather,  as  a  sinner 
could  wish  to  keep  clear  of.  It's  a  famous  place  for  coco 
nuts  and  bitter  water,  that  Sancho's  Island." 

"It's  no'  very  famous  for  dinners, "  returned  Muir, 
repressing  the  smile  which  was  struggling  to  his  lips  out 
of  respect  to  Mabel;  "nor  do  I  think  there'll  be  much  to 
choose  between  its  revenue  and  that  of  this  spot.  In 
my  judgment,  Master  Cap,  this  is  a  very  unmilitary  posi 
tion,  and  I  look  to  some  calamity  befalling  it,  sooner  or 
later." 

"It  is  to  be  hoped  not  until  our  turn  of  duty  is  over," 
observed  Mabel.  "I  have  no  wish  to  study  the  French 
language. ' ' 

"We  might  think  ourselves  happy,  did  it  not  prove  to 
be  the  Iroquois.  I  have  reasoned  with  Major  Duncan  on 


THE  PATHFINDER  319 

the  occupation  of  this  position,  but  'a  wilfu'  man  maun 
ha'  his  way.'  My  first  object  in  accompanying  this  party 
was  to  endeavor  to  make  myself  acceptable  and  useful  to 
your  beautiful  niece,  Master  Cap;  and  the  second  was  to 
take  such  an  account  of  the  stores  that  belong  to  my  par 
ticular  department  as  shall  leave  no  question  open  to  con 
troversy,  concerning  the  manner  of  expenditure,  when 
they  shall  have  disappeared  by  means  of  the  enemy." 

"Do  you  look  upon  matters  as  so  serious?"  demanded 
Cap,  actually  suspending  his  mastication  of  a  bit  of  veni 
son — for  he  passed  alternately  from  fish  to  flesh  and  back 
again — in  the  interest  he  took  in  the  answer.  "Is  the 
danger  pressing?" 

"I'll  no'  say  just  that;  and  I'll  no'  say  just  the  con 
trary.  There  is  always  danger  in  war,  and  there  is  more 
of  it  at  the  advanced  posts  than  at  the  main  encampment. 
It  ought,  therefore,  to  occasion  no  surprise  were  we  to  be 
visited  by  the  French  at  any  moment." 

"And  what  the  devil  is  to  be  done  in  that  case?  Six 
men  and  two  women  would  make  but  a  poor  job  in  defend 
ing  such  a  place  as  this,  should  the  enemy  invade  us;  as, 
no  doubt,  Frenchman-like,  they  would  take  very  good  care 
to  come  strong-handed." 

"That  we  may  depend  on — some  very  formidable  force 
at  the  very  lowest.  A  military  disposition  might  be  made 
in  defense  of  the  island,  out  of  all  question,  and  according 
to  the  art  of  war,  though  we  would  probably  fail  in  the 
force  necessary  to  carry  out  the  design  in  any  very  credit 
able  manner.  In  the  first  place,  a  detachment  should  be 
sent  off  to  the  shore,  with  orders  to  annoy  the  enemy  in 
landing;  a  strong  party  ought  instantly  to  be  thrown  into 
the  blockhouse,  as  the  citadel,  for  on  that  all  the  different 
detachments  would  naturally  fall  back  for  support,  as  the 
French  advanced;  and  an  entrenched  camp  might  be  laid 
out  around  the  stronghold,  as  it  would  be  very  unmilitary 
indeed  to  let  the  foe  get  near  enough  to  the  foot  of  the 
walls  to  mine  them.  Chevaux-de-frise  would  keep  the 
cavalry  in  check;  and  as  for  the  artillery,  redoubts  should 
be  thrown  up  under  cover  of  yon  woods.  Strong  skirm 
ishing  parties,  moreover,  would  be  exceedingly  serviceable 
in  retarding  the  march  of  the  enemy;  and  these  different 


320  THE  PATHFINDER 

huts,  if  properly  piqueted  and  ditched,  would  be  converted 
into  very  eligible  positions  for  that  object." 

"Whe — e — e — w — ,  quartermaster!  And  who  the  devil 
is  to  find  all  the  men  to  carry  out  such  a  plan?" 

"The  king,  out  of  all  question,  Master  Cap.  It  is  his 
quarrel,  and  it's  just  he  should  bear  the  burthen  o'  it." 

"And  we  are  only  six!  This  is  fine  talking,  with  a 
vengeance.  You  could  be  sent  down  to  the  shore  to  oppose 
the  landing,  Mabel  might  skirmish  with  her  tongue  at 
least,  the  soldier's  wife  might  act  chevaux-de-frise  to  en 
tangle  the  cavalry,  the  corporal  should  command  the  en 
trenched  camp,  his  three  men  could  occupy  the  five  huts, 
and  I  would  take  the  blockhouse.  Whe — e — e — w!  you 
describe  well,  lieutenant;  and  should  have  been  a  miner 
instead  of  a  soldier." 

"Nay,  I've  been  very  literal  and  upright  in  my  exposi 
tion  of  matters.  That  there  is  no  greater  force  here  to 
carry  out  the  plan  is  a  fault  of  his  Majesty's  ministers, 
and  none  of  mine." 

"But  should  our  enemy  really  appear,"  asked  Mabel, 
with  more  interest  than  she  might  have  shown,  had  she 
not  remembered  the  guest  in  the  hut,  "what  course  ought 
we  to  pursue?' 

"My  advice  would  be  to  attempt  to  achieve  that,  pretty 
Mabel,  which  rendered  Xenophon  so  justly  celebrated." 

"I  think  you  mean  a  retreat,  though  I  half  guess  at 
your  allusion." 

"You've  imagined  my  meaning  from  the  possession  of 
a  strong  native  sense,  young  lady.  I  am  aware  that  your 
worthy  father  has  pointed  out  to  the  corporal  certain 
modes  and  methods  by  which  he  fancies  this  island  could 
be  held,  in  case  the  French  should  discover  its  position; 
but  the  excellent  sergeant,  though  your  father,  and  as 
good  a  man  in  his  duties  as  ever  wielded  a  spontoon,  is 
not  the  great  Lord  Stair,  or  even  the  Duke  of  Marlborough. 
I'll  not  deny  the  sergeant's  merits  in  his  particular  sphere; 
though  I  cannot  exaggerate  qualities,  however  excellent, 
into  those  of  men  who  may  be  in  some  trifling  degree 
his  superiors.  Sergeant  Dunham  has  taken  counsel  of 
his  heart,  instead  of  his  head,  in  resolving  to  issue  such 
orders;  but,  if  the  fort  fall,  the  blame  will  lie  on  him  that 


THE  PATHFINDER  321 

ordered  it  to  be  occupied,  and  not  on  him  whose  duty  it 
was  to  defend  it.  Whatever  maybe  the  determination  of 
the  latter,  should  the  French  and  their  allies  land,  a  good 
commander  never  neglects  the  preparations  necessary  to 
effect  a  retreat;  and  I  would  advise  Master  Cap,  who  is 
the  admiral  of  our  navy,  to  have  a  boat  in  readiness  to 
evacuate  the  island,  if  need  comes  to  need.  The  largest 
boat  that  we  have  left  carries  a  very  ample  sail ;  and  by 
hauling  it  round  here,  and  mooring  it  under  those  bushes, 
there  will  be  a  convenient  place  for  a  hurried  embarka 
tion;  and  then  you'll  perceive,  pretty  Mabel,  that  it  is 
scarcely  fifty  yards  before  we  shall  be  in  a  channel  be 
tween  two  other  islands,  and  hid  from  the  sight  of  those 
who  may  happen  to  be  on  this." 

"All  that  you  say  is  very  true,  Mr.  Muir;  but  may 
not  the  French  come  from  that  quarter  themselves?  If 
it  is  so  good  for  a  retreat,  it  is  equally  good  for  an 
advance." 

"They'll  no'  have  the  sense  to  do  so  discreet  a  thing," 
returned  Muir,  looking  furtively  and  a  little  uneasily 
around  him;  "they'll  no'  have  sufficient  discretion.  Your 
French  are  a  head-overheels  nation,  and  usually  come 
forward  in  a  random  way;  so  we  may  look  for  them,  if 
they  come  at  all,  on  the  other  side  of  the  island." 

The  discourse  now  became  exceedingly  desultory,  touch 
ing  principally,  however,  on  the  probabilities  of  an  inva 
sion,  and  the  best  means  of  meeting  it. 

To  most  of  this  Mabel  paid  but  little  attention;  though 
she  felt  some  surprise  that  Lieutenant  Muir,  an  officer 
whose  character  for  courage  stood  well,  should  openly 
recommend  an  abandonment  of  what  appeared  to  her  to  be 
doubly  a  duty,  her  father's  character  being  connected 
with  the  defense  of  the  island.  Her  mind,  however,  was 
so  much  occupied  with  her  guest,  that,  seizing  the  first 
favorable  moment,  she  left  the  table,  and  was  soon  in  her 
own  hut  again.  Carefully  fastening  the  door,  and  seeing 
that  the  simple  curtain  was  drawn  before  the  single  little 
window,  Mabel  next  led  the  Dew-of-June,  or  June,  as  she 
was  familiarly  termed  by  those  who  spoke  to  her  in  Eng 
lish,  into  the  outer  room,  making  signs  of  affection  and 
confidence. 
21 


322  THE  PATHFINDER 

"I  am  glad  to  see  you,  June,"  said  Mabel,  with  one  of 
her  sweetest  smiles,  and  in  her  own  winning  voice — "very 
glad  to  see  you.  What  has  brought  you  hither,  and  how 
did  you  discover  the  island?" 

"Speak  slow,"  said  June,  returning  smile  for  smile, 
and  pressing  the  little  hand  she  held  with  one  of  her  own 
that  was  scarcely  larger,  though  it  had  been  hardened  by 
labor;  "more  slow — too  quick. " 

Mabel  repeated  her  questions,  endeavoring  to  repress 
the  impetuosity  of  her  feelings;  and  she  succeeded  in 
speaking  so  distinctly  as  to  be  understood. 

"June,  friend,"  returned  the  Indian  woman. 

"I  believe  you,  June — from  my  soul  I  believe  you;  what 
has  this  to  do  with  your  visit?" 

"Friend  come  to  see  friend,"  answered  June,  again 
smiling  openly  in  the  other's  face. 

"There  is  some  other  reason,  June,  else  would  you 
never  run  this  risk,  and  alone.  You  are  alone,  June?" 

"June  wid  you,  no  one  else.  June  come  alone,  paddle 
canoe. ' ' 

"I  hope  so,  I  think  so — nay,  I  know  so.  You  would  not 
be  treacherous  with  me,  June?" 

"What  treacherous?" 

"You  would  not  betray  me,  would  not  give  me  to  the 
French,  to  the  Iroquois,  to  Arrowhead?" 

June  shook  her  head  earnestly. 

"You  would  not  sell  my  scalp?" 

Here  June  passed  her  arm  fondly  around  the  slender 
waist  of  Mabel  and  pressed  her  to  her  heart  with  a  tender 
ness  and  affection  that  brought  tears  into  the  eyes  of  our 
heroine.  It  was  done  in  the  fond  caressing  manner  of  a 
woman,  and  it  was  scarcely  possible  that  it  should  not  ob 
tain  credit  for  sincerity  with  a  young  and  ingenuous  per 
son  of  the  same  sex.  Mabel  returned  the  pressure,  and 
then  held  the  other  off  at  the  length  of  her  arm,  looked 
her  steadily  in  the  face,  and  continued  her  inquiries. 

"If  June  has  something  to  tell  her  friend,  let  her  speak 
plainly,"  she  said.  "My  ears  are  open." 

"June  'fraid  Arrowhead  kill  her." 

"But  Arrowhead  will  never  know  it."  Mabel's  blood 
mounted  to  her  temples  as  she  said  this;  for  she  felt  that 


THE  PATHFINDER  323 

she  was  urging  a  wife  to  be  treacherous  to  her  husband. 
"That  is,  Mabel  will  not  tell  him." 

"He  bury  tomahawk  in  June's  head." 

"That  must  never  be,  dear  June;  I  would  rather  you 
should  say  no  more  than  run  this  risk." 

"Blockhouse  good  place  to  sleep,  good  place  to  stay." 

"Do  you  mean  that  I  may  save  my  life  by  keeping  in 
the  blockhouse,  June?  Surely,  surely,  Arrowhead  will 
not  hurt  you  for  telling  me  that.  He  cannot  wish  me 
any  great  harm,  for  I  never  injured  him." 

"Arrowhead  wish  no  harm  to  handsome  pale  face," 
returned  June,  averting  her  face;  and,  though  she  always 
spoke  in  the  soft,  gentle  voice  of  an  Indian  girl,  now  per 
mitting  its  notes  to  fall  so  low  as  to  cause  them  to  sound 
melancholy  and  timid.  "Arrowhead  love  pale  face  girl." 

Mabel  blushed,  she  knew  not  why,  and  for  a  moment 
her  questions  were  repressed  by  a  feeling  of  inherent 
delicacy.  But  it  was  necessary  to  know  more,  for  her 
apprehensions  had  been  keenly  awakened,  and  she  resumed 
her  inquiries. 

"Arrowhead  can  have  no  reason  to  love  or  to  hate  me," 
she  said.  "Is  he  near  you?" 

"Husband  always  near  wife,  here,"  said  June,  laying 
her  hand  on  her  heart. 

"Excellent  creature!  But  tell  me,  June,  ought  I  to 
keep  in  the  blockhouse  to-day — this  morning — now?" 

"Blockhouse  very  good;  good  for  women.  Blockhouse 
got  no  scalp." 

"I  fear  I  understand  you  only  too  well,  June.  Do  you 
wish  to  see  my  father?" 

"No  here;  gone  away." 

"You  cannot  know  that,  June;  you  see  the  island  is 
full  of  his  soldiers." 

"No  full;  gone  away;"  here  June  held  up  four  of  her 
fingers;  "so  many  red-coats." 

"And  Pathfinder?  would  you  not  like  to  see  the  Path 
finder?  He  can  talk  to  you  in  the  Iroquois  tongue." 

"Tongue  gone  wid  him,"  said  June,  laughing;  "keep 
tongue  in  his  mout'." 

There  was  something  so  sweet  and  contagious  in  the 
infantine  laugh  of  an  Indian  girl,  that  Mabel  could  not 


324  THE  PATHFINDER 

refrain  from  joining  in  it,  much  as  her  fears  were  aroused 
by  all  that  had  passed. 

"You  appear  to  know,  or  to  think  you  know,  all  about 
us,  June.  But  if  Pathfinder  be  gone,  Eau-douce  can 
speak  French,  too.  You  know  Eau-douce;  shall  I  run  and 
bring  him  to  talk  with  you?" 

"Eau-douce  gone,  too,  all  but  heart;  that  there."  As 
June  said  this,  she  laughed  again;  looked  in  different  di 
rections,  as  if  unwilling  to  confuse  the  other,  and  laid 
her  hand  on  Mabel's  bosom. 

Our  heroine  had  often  heard  of  the  wonderful  sagacity 
of  the  Indians,  and  of  the  surprising  manner  in  which 
they  noted  all  things,  while  they  appeared  to  regard 
none;  but  she  was  scarcely  prepared  for  the  direction  the 
discourse  has  so  singularly  taken.  Willing  to  change  it, 
and  at  the  same  time  truly  anxious  to  learn  how  great 
the  danger  that  impended  over  them  might  really  be,  she 
rose  from  the  camp-stool  on  which  she  had  been  seated; 
and,  by  assuming  an  attitude  of  less  affectionate  confi 
dence,  she  hoped  to  hear  more  of  that  she  really  desired 
to  learn,  and  to  avoid  allusions  to  that  which  she  found 
so  embarrassing. 

"You  know  how  much  or  how  little  you  ought  to  tell 
me,  June,"  she  said;  "and  I  hope  you  love  me  well 
enough  to  give  me  the  information  I  ought  to  hear.  My 
dear  uncle,  too,  is  on  the  island,  and  you  are,  or  ought 
to  be,  his  friend  as  well  as  mine;  and  both  of  us  will  re 
member  your  conduct  when  we  get  back  to  Oswego. ' ' 

"Maybe,  never  get  back;  who  know?"  This  was  said 
doubtingly,  or  as  one  who  lays  down  an  uncertain  propo 
sition,  and  not  with  a  taunt,  or  a  desire  to  alarm. 

"No  one  knows  what  will  happen  but  God.  Our  lives 
are  in  His  hands.  Still,  I  think  you  are  to  be  His  in 
strument  in  saving  us." 

This  passed  June's  comprehension,  and  she  only  looked 
her  ignorance;  for  it  was  evident  she  wished  to  be  of  use. 

"Blockhouse  very  good,"  she  repeated,  as  soon  as  her 
countenance  ceased  to  express  uncertainty,  laying  strong 
emphasis  on  the  last  two  words. 

"Well,  I  understand  this,  June,  and  will  sleep  in  it 
to-night.  Of  course  I  am  to  tell  my  uncle  what  you  have 
said?" 


THE  PATHFINDER  325 

The  Dew-of-June  started,  and  she  discovered  a  very 
manifest  uneasiness  at  the  interrogatory. 

"No,  no,  no,  no!"  she  answered,  with  a  volubility  and 
vehemence  that  was  imitated  from  the  French  of  the 
Canadas;  "no  good  to  tell  Saltwater.  He  much  talk  and 
long  tongue.  Thinks  woods  all  water,  understand  not'- 
ing.  Tell  Arrowhead,  and  June  die." 

"You  do  my  dear  uncle  injustice,  for  he  would  be  as 
little  likely  to  betray  you  as  any  one." 

"No  understand.  Saltwater  got  tongue,  but  no  eyes, 
no  ears,  no  nose — not' ing  but  tongue,  tongue,  tongue!" 

Although  Mabel  did  not  exactly  coincide  in  this  opinion, 
she  saw  that  Cap  had  not  the  confidence  of  the  young 
Indian  woman,  and  that  it  was  idle  to  expect  she  would 
consent  to  his  being  admitted  to  their  interview. 

"You  appear  to  think  you  know  our  situation  pretty 
well,  June,"  Mabel  continued;  "have  you  been  on  the 
island  before  this  visit?" 

"Just  come." 

"How  then  do  you  know  that  what  you  say  is  true? 
my  father,  the  Pathfinder,  and  Eau-douce  may  all  be  here 
within  sound  of  my  voice,  if  I  choose  to  call  them." 

"All  gone,"  said  June  positively,  smiling  good-hu- 
moredly  at  the  same  time. 

"Nay,  this  is  more  than  you  can  say  certainly,  not 
having  been  over  the  island  to  examine  it. ' ' 

"Got  good  eyes;  see  boat  with  men  go  away — see  ship 
with  Eau-douce." 

"Then  you  have  been  some  time  watching  us.  I  think, 
however,  you  have  not  counted  them  that  remain." 

June  laughed,  held  up  her  four  fingers  again,  and  then 
pointed  to  her  two  thumbs;  passing  a  finger  over  the  first, 
she  repeated  the  words  "red-coats;"  and  touching  the 
last,  she  added,  "Saltwater,"  "quartermaster."  All  this 
was  being  very  accurate,  and  Mabel  began  to  entertain 
sarious  doubts  as  to  the  propriety  of  her  permitting  her 
visitor  to  depart  without  her  becoming  more  explicit. 
Still  it  was  so  repugnant  to  her  feelings  to  abuse  the  con 
fidence  this  gentle  and  affectionate  creature  had  evidently 
reposed  in  her,  that  Mabel  had  no  sooner  admitted  the 
thought  of  summoning  her  uncle,  than  she  rejected  it  as 


326  THE  PATHFINDER 

unworthy  of  herself  and  unjust  to  her  friend.  To  aid 
this  good  resolution,  too,  there  was  the  certainty  that 
June  would  reveal  nothing,  but  take  refuge  in  a  stubborn 
silence,  if  any  attempt  were  made  to  coerce  her. 

"You  think,  then,  June,"  Mabel  continued,  as  soon  as 
these  thoughts  had  passed  through  her  mind,  "that  I  had 
better  live  in  the  blockhouse?" 

"Good  place  for  woman.  Blockhouse  got  no  scalp. 
Logst'ick." 

"You  speak  confidently,  June;  as  if  you  had  been  in  it, 
and  had  measured  its  walls." 

June  laughed;  and  she  looked  knowing,  though  she  said 
nothing. 

"Does  anyone  but  yourself  know  how  to  find  this  island? 
have  any  of  the  Iroquois  seen  it?" 

June  looked  sad,  and  she  cast  her  eyes  warily  about 
her,  as  if  distrusting  a  listener. 

"Tuscarora,  everywhere — Oswego,  here,  Frontenac, 
Mohawk — everywhere.  If  he  see  June,  kill  her." 

"But  we  thought  that  no  one  knew  of  this  island,  and 
that  we  had  no  reason  to  fear  our  enemies  while  on  it." 

"Much  eye,  Iroquois." 

"Eyes  will  not  always  do,  June.  This  spot  is  hid  from 
ordinary  sight,  and  few  of  even  our  own  people  know  how 
to  find  it." 

"One  man  can  tell;  some  Yengeese  talk  French." 

Mabel  felt  a  chill  at  her  heart.  All  the  suspicions 
against  Jasper,  which  she  had  hitherto  disdained  enter 
taining,  crowded  in  a  body  on  her  thoughts;  and  the  sen 
sation  that  they  brought  was  so  sickening,  that  for  an 
instant  she  imagined  she  was  about  to  faint.  Arousing 
herself,  and  remembering  her  promise  to  her  father,  she 
arose  and  walked  up  and  down  the  hut  for  a  minute, 
fancying  that  Jasper's  delinquencies  were  naught  to  her, 
though  her  inmost  heart  yearned  with  the  desire  to  think 
him  innocent. 

"I  understand  your  meaning,  June,"  she  then  said; 
"you  wish  me  to  know  that  some  one  has  treacherously 
told  your  people  where  and  how  to  find  the  island?" 

June  laughed,  for  in  her  eyes  artifice  inwarwasoftener 
a  merit  than  a  crime;  but  she  was  too  true  to  her  tribe 


THE  PATHFINDER  327 

herself  to  say  more  than  the  occasion  required.  Her 
object  was  to  save  Mabel,  and  Mabel  only;  and  she  saw  no 
sufficient  reason  for  "traveling  out  of  the  record,"  as  the 
lawyers  express  it,  in  order  to  do  anything  else. 

"Pale  face  know  now,"  she  added.  "Blockhouse  good 
for  girl,  no  matter  for  men  and  warriors." 

"But  it  is  much  matter  with  me,  June;  for  one  of 
these  men  is  my  uncle,  whom  I  love,  and  the  others  are 
my  countrymen  and  friends.  I  must  tell  them  what  has 
passed." 

"Then  June  be  kill,"  returned  the  young  Indian  quiet 
ly,  though  she  evidently  spoke  with  concern. 

"No;  they  shall  not  know  that  you  have  been  here. 
Still,  they  must  be  on  their  guard,  and  we  can  all  go  into 
the  blockhouse. ' ' 

"Arrowhead  know,  see  everything,  and  June  be  kill. 
June  come  to  tell  young  pale  face  friend,  not  to  tell  men. 
Every  warrior  watch  his  own  scalp.  June  woman,  and 
tell  woman;  no  tell  men." 

Mabel  was  greatly  distressed  at  this  declaration  of  her 
wild  friend,  for  it  was  now  evident  the  young  creature 
understood  that  her  communication  was  to  go  no  further. 
She  was  ignorant  how  far  these  people  consider  the  point 
of  honor  interested  in  her  keeping  the  secret;  and  most 
of  all  was  she  unable  to  say  how  far  any  indiscretion  of 
her  own  might  actually  commit  June  and  endanger  her 
life.  All  these  considerations  flashed  on  her  mind,  and 
reflection  only  rendered  their  influence  more  painful. 
June,  too,  manifestly  viewed  the  matter  gravely;  for  she 
began  to  gather  up  the  different  little  articles  she  had 
dropped  in  taking  Mabel's  hand,  and  was  preparing  to 
depart.  To  attempt  detaining  her  was  out  of  the  ques 
tion;  and  to  part  from  her,  after  all  she  had  hazarded  to 
serve  her,  was  repugnant  to  all  the  just  and  kind  feelings 
of  our  heroine's  nature. 

"June,"  said  she  eagerly,  folding  her  arms  round  the 
gentle  but  uneducated  being,  "we  are  friends.  From  me 
you  have  nothing  to  fear,  for  no  one  shall  know  of  your 
visit.  If  you  could  give  me  some  signal  just  before  the 
danger  comes,  some  sign  by  which  to  know  when  to  go 
into  the  blockhouse,  how  to  take  care  of  myself." 


328  THE  PATHFINDER 

June  paused,  for  she  had  been  in  earnest  in  her  inten 
tion  to  depart;  and  then  she  said  quietly,  "Bring  June 
pigeon." 

"A  pigeon!  Where  shall  I  find  a  pigeon  to  bring  you?" 

"Next  hut;  bring  old  one;  June  go  to  canoe." 

"I  think  I  understand  you,  June;  but  had  I  not  better 
lead  you  back  to  the  bushes,  lest  you  meet  some  of  the 
men?" 

"Go  out  first;  count  men,  one,  two,  free,  four,  five, 
six" — here  June  held  up  her  fingers,  and  laughed — "all 
out  of  the  way — good;  all  but  one,  call  him  one  side. 
Then  sing,  and  fetch  pigeon." 

Mabel  smiled  at  the  readiness  and  ingenuity  of  the  girl, 
and  prepared  to  execute  her  requests.  At  the  door,  how 
ever,  she  stopped,  and  looked  back  entreatingly  at  the 
Indian  woman.  "Is  there  no  hope  of  your  telling  me 
more,  June?"  she  said. 

"Know  all  now,  blockhouse  good,  pigeon  tell,  Arrow 
head  kill." 

The  last  words  sufficed ;  for  Mabel  could  not  urge  further 
communications,  when  her  companion  herself  told  her 
that  the  penalty  of  her  revelations  might  be  death  by  the 
hand  of  her  husband.  Throwing  open  the  door,  she  made 
a  sign  of  adieu  to  June,  and  went  out  of  the  hut.  Mabel 
resorted  to  the  simple  expedient  of  the  young  Indian  girl 
to  ascertain  the  situation  of  the  different  individuals  on 
the  island.  Instead  of  looking  about  her  with  the  inten 
tion  of  recognizing  faces  and  dresses,  she  merely  counted 
them;  and  found  that  three  still  remained  at  the  fire, 
while  two  had  gone  to  the  boat,  one  of  whom  was  Mr. 
Muir.  The  sixth  man  was  her  uncle;  and  he  was  coolly 
arranging  some  fishing-tackle  at  no  great  distance  from 
the  fire.  The  woman  was  just  entering  her  own  hut;  and 
this  accounted  for  the  whole  party.  Mabel  now,  affecting 
to  have  dropped  something,  returned  nearly  to  the  hut 
she  had  left,  warbling  an  air,  stooped  as  if  to  pick  up 
some  object  from  the  ground,  and  hurried  towards  the 
hut  June  had  mentioned.  This  was  a  dilapidated  struc 
ture,  and  it  had  been  converted  by  the  soldiers  of  the  last 
detachment  into  a  sort  of  storehouse  for  their  live  stock. 
Among  other  things,  it  contained  a  few  dozen  pigeons, 


THE  PATHFINDER  329 

which  were  regaling  on  a  pile  of  wheat  that  had  been 
brought  off  from  one  of  the  farms  plundered  on  the  Can 
ada  shore.  Mabel  had  not  much  difficulty  in  catching  one 
of  these  pigeons,  although  they  fluttered  and  flew  about 
the  hut  with  a  noise  like  that  of  drums;  and,  concealing 
it  in  her  dress,  she  stole  back  towards  her  own  hut  with 
the  prize.  It  was  empty;  and,  without  doing  more  than 
cast  a  glance  in  at  the  door;  the  eager  girl  hurried  down 
to  the  shore.  She  had  no  difficulty  in  escaping  observa 
tion,  for  the  trees  and  bushes  made  a  complete  cover  to 
her  person.  At  the  canoe  she  found  June,  who  took  the 
pigeon,  placed  it  in  a  basket  of  her  own  manufacturing, 
and,  repeating  the  words,  "blockhouse  good,"  she  glided 
out  of  the  bushes  and  across  the  narrow  passage,  as  noise 
lessly  as  she  had  come.  Mabel  waited  some  time  to  catch 
a  signal  of  leave-taking  or  amity  after  her  friend  had 
landed,  but  none  was  given.  The  adjacent  islands,  with 
out  exception,  were  as  quiet  as  if  no  one  had  ever  dis 
turbed  the  sublime  repose  of  nature,  and  nowhere  could 
any  sign  or  symptom  be  discovered,  as  Mabel  then  thought, 
that  might  denote  the  proximity  of  the  sort  of  danger  of 
which  June  had  given  notice. 

On  returning,  however,  from  the  shore,  Mabel  was 
struck  with  a  little  circumstance,  that,  in  an  ordinary 
situation,  would  have  attracted  no  attention,  but  which, 
now  that  her  suspicions  had  been  aroused,  did  not  pass 
before  her  uneasy  eye  unnoticed.  A  small  piece  of  red 
bunting,  such  as  is  used  in  the  ensigns  of  ships,  was  flut 
tering  at  the  lower  branch  of  a  small  tree,  fastened  in  a 
way  to  permit  it  to  blow  out,  or  to  droop  like  a  vessel's 
pennant. 

Now  that  Mabel's  fears  were  awakened,  June  herself 
could  not  have  manifested  greater  quickness  in  analyzing 
facts  that  she  believed  might  affect  the  safety  of  the 
party.  She  saw  at  a  glance  that  this  bit  of  cloth  could 
be  observed  from  an  adjacent  island;  that  it  lay  so  near 
the  line  between  her  own  hut  and  the  canoe  as  to  leave  no 
doubt  that  June  had  passed  near  it,  if  not  directly  under 
it;  and  that  it  might  be  a  signal  to  communicate  some 
important  fact  connected  with  the  mode  of  attack  to  those 
who  were  probably  lying  in  ambush  neai  them.  Tearing 


330  THE  PATHFINDER 

the  little  strip  of  bunting  from  the  tree,  Mabel  hastened 
on,  scarcely  knowing  what  her  duty  next  required  of  her. 
June  might  be  false  to  her,  but  her  manner,  her  looks, 
her  affection,  and  her  disposition  as  Mabel  had  known  it 
in  the  journey,  forbade  the  idea.  Then  came  the  allusion 
to  Arrowhead's  admiration  of  the  pale  face  beauties, 
some  dim  recollections  of  the  looks  of  the  Tuscarora,  and 
a  painful  consciousness  that  few  wives  could  view  with 
kindness  one  who  had  estranged  a  husband's  affections. 
None  of  these  images  were  distinct  and  clear,  but  they 
rather  gleamed  over  the  mind  of  our  heroine  than  rested 
in  it,  and  they  quickened  her  pulses,  as  they  did  her  step, 
without  bringing  with  them  the  prompt  and  clear  de 
cisions  that  usually  followed  her  reflections.  She  had 
hurried  onwards  towards  the  hut  occupied  by  the  soldier's 
wife,  intending  to  remove  at  once  to  the  blockhouse  with 
the  woman,  though  she  could  persuade  no  other  to  follow, 
when  her  impatient  walk  was  interrupted  by  the  voice  of 
Muir. 

"Whither  so  fast,  pretty  Mabel?"  he  cried;  "and  why 
so  given  to  solitude?  The  worthy  sergeant  will  deride 
my  breeding,  if  he  hear  that  his  daughter  passes  the 
mornings  alone  and  unattended  to,  though  he  well  knows 
it  is  my  ardent  wish  to  be  her  slave  and  companion  from 
the  beginning  of  the  year  to  its  end." 

"Surely,  Mr.  Muir,  you  must  have  some  authority 
here?"  Mabel  suddenly  arrested  her  steps  to  say.  "One 
of  your  rank  would  be  listened  to,  at  least,  by  a  corporal?" 

"I  don't  know  that,  I  don't  know  that,"  interrupted 
Muir,  with  an  impatience  and  appearance  of  alarm  that 
might  have  excited  Mabel's  attention  at  another  moment. 
"Command  is  command;  discipline,  discipline;  and  au 
thority,  authority.  Your  good  father  would  be  sore 
grieved  did  he  find  me  interfering  to  sully  or  carry  off 
the  laurels  he  is  about  to  win;  and  I  cannot  command  the 
corporal  without  equally  commanding  the  sergeant.  The 
wisest  way  will  be  for  me  to  remain  in  the  obscurity  of 
a  private  individual  in  this  enterprise;  and  it  is  so  that 
all  parties,  from  Lundie  down,  understand  the  transac 
tion." 

"This  I  know,  and  it  may  be  well,  nor  would  I  give  my 


THE  PATHFINDER  331 

dear  father  any  cause  of  complaint;  but  you  may  influence 
the  corporal  to  his  own  good." 

"I'll  no'  say  that,"  returned  Muir  in  his  sly  Scotch 
way;  "it  would  be  far  safer  to  promise  to  influence  him 
to  his  injury.  Mankind,  pretty  Mabel,  have  their  pecu 
liarities;  and  to  influence  a  fellow-being  to  his  own  good 
is  one  of  the  most  difficult  tasks  of  human  nature,  while 
the  opposite  is  just  the  easiest.  You'll  no'  forget  this, 
my  dear,  but  bear  it  in  mind  for  your  edification  and 
government.  But  what  is  that  you're  twisting  round 
your  slender  finger  as  you  may  be  said  to  twist  hearts?" 

"It  is  nothing  but  a  bit  of  cloth — a  sort  of  flag — a 
trifle  that  is  hardly  worth  our  attention  at  this  grave 
moment.  If— 

"A  trifle!  It's  no'  so  trifling  as  ye  may  imagine, 
Mistress  Mabel,"  taking  the  bit  of  bunting  from  her, 
and  stretching  it  at  full  length  with  both  his  arms  ex 
tended,  while  his  face  grew  grave  and  his  eye  watchful. 
"Ye'll  no'  ha'  been  finding  this,  Mabel  Dunham,  in  the 
breakfast?" 

Mabel  simply  acquainted  him  with  the  spot  where  and 
the  manner  in  which  she  had  found  the  bit  of  cloth. 
While  she  was  speaking,  the  eye  of  the  quartermaster  was 
not  quiet  for  a  moment,  glancing  from  the  rag  to  the 
face  of  our  heroine,  then  back  again  to  the  rag.  That  his 
suspicions  where  awakened  was  easy  to  be  seen,  nor  was 
he  long  in  letting  it  be  known  what  direction  they  had 
taken. 

"We  are  not  in  a  part  of  the  world  where  our  ensigns 
and  gauds  ought  to  be  spread  abroad  to  the  wind,  Mabel 
Dunham!"  he  said,  with  an  ominous  shake  of  the  head. 

"I  thought  as  much  myself,  Mr.  Muir,  and  brought 
away  the  little  flag  lest  it  might  be  the  means  of  betray 
ing  our  presence  here  to  the  enemy,  even  though  nothing 
is  intended  by  its  display.  Ought  not  my  uncle  to  be 
made  acquainted  with  the  circumstance?" 

"I  no'  see  the  necessity  for  that,  pretty  Mabel;  for,  as 
you  justly  say,  it  is  a  circumstance,  and  circumstances 
sometimes  worry  the  worthy  mariner.  But  this  flag,  if 
flag  it  can  be  called,  belongs  to  a  seaman's  craft.  You 
may  perceive  that  it  is  made  of  what  is  called  banting, 


332  THE  PATHFINDER 

and  that  is  a  description  of  cloth  used  only  by  vessels  for 
such  purposes,  our  colors  being  of  silk,  as  you  may  under 
stand,  or  painted  canvas.  It's  surprisingly  like  the  fly 
of  the  Scud's  ensign.  And  now  I  recollect  me  to  have 
observed  that  a  piece  had  been  cut  from  that  very 
flag." 

Mabel  felt  her  heart  sink,  but  she  had  sufficient  self- 
command  not  to  attempt  an  answer. 

"It  must  be  looked  to,"  Muir  continued,  "and,  after 
all,  I  think  it  may  be  well  to  hold  a  short  consultation 
with  Master  Cap,  than  whom  a  more  loyal  subject  does 
not  exist  in  the  British  empire." 

"I  have  thought  the  warning  so  serious,"  Mabel  re 
joined,  "that  I  am  about  to  remove  to  the  blockhouse,  and 
to  take  the  woman  with  me. ' ' 

"I  do  not  see  the  prudence  of  that,  Mabel.  The  block 
house  will  be  the  first  spot  assailed  should  there  really  be 
an  attack;  and  it's  no  well  provided  for  a  siege,  that 
must  be  allowed.  If  I  might  advise  in  so  delicate  a  con 
tingency,  I  would  recommend  your  taking  refuge  in  the 
boat,  which,  as  you  may  now  perceive,  is  most  favorably 
placed  to  retreat  by  that  channel  opposite,  where  all  in 
it  would  be  hid  by  the  islands  in  one  or  two  minutes. 
Water  leaves  no  trail,  as  Pathfinder  well  expresses  it;  and 
there  appears  to  be  so  many  different  passages  in  that 
quarter  that  escape  would  be  more  than  probable.  I've 
always  been  of  opinion  that  Lundie  hazarded  too  much  in 
occupying  a  post  so  far  advanced  and  so  much  exposed  as 
this." 

"It's  too  late  to  regret  it  now,  Mr.  Muir,  and  we  have 
only  to  consult  our  own  security." 

"And  the  king's  honor,  pretty  Mabel.  Yes,  his  Majes 
ty's  arms  and  his  glorious  name  are  not  to  be  overlooked 
on  any  occasion." 

"Then  I  think  it  might  be  better  if  we  all  turned  our 
eyes  towards  the  place  that  has  been  built  to  maintain 
them  instead  of  the  boat,"  said  Mabel,  smiling;  "and  so, 
Mr.  Muir,  I  am  for  the  blockhouse,  intending  to  await 
there  the  return  of  my  father  and  his  party.  He  would 
be  sadly  grieved  at  finding  we  had  fled  when  he  got  back 
successful  himsolf,  and  filled  with  the  confidence  of  our 


THE  PATHFINDER  333 

having  been  as  faithful  to  our  duties  as  he  has  been  to  his 
own. ' ' 

"Nay,  nay,  for  heaven's  sake,  do  not  misunderstand 
me,  Mabel!"  Muir  interrupted,  with  some  alarm  of  man 
ner;  "I  am  far  from  intimating  that  any  but  you  females 
ought  to  take  refuge  in  the  boat.  The  duty  of  us  men  is 
sufficiently  plain,  no  doubt,  and  my  resolution  has  been 
formed  from  the  first  to  stand  or  fall  by  the  blockhouse. ' ' 

"And  did  you  imagine,  Mr.  Muir,  that  two  females 
could  row  that  heavy  boat  in  a  way  to  escape  the  bark 
canoe  of  an  Indian?" 

"Ah,  my  pretty  Mabel,  love  is  seldom  logical,  and  its 
fears  and  misgivings  are  apt  to  warp  the  faculties!  I  only 
saw  your  sweet  person  in  the  possession  of  the  means  of 
safety,  and  overlooked  the  want  of  ability  to  use  them; 
but  you'll  not  be  so  cruel,  lovely  creature,  as  to  impute 
to  me  as  a  fault  my  intense  anxiety  on  your  own  account!" 

Mabel  had  heard  enough;  her  mind  was  too  much  occu 
pied  with  what  had  passed  that  morning,  and  with  her 
fears,  to  wish  to  linger  longer  to  listen  to  love  speeches, 
which  in  her  most  joyous  and  buoyant  moments  she  would 
have  found  unpleasant.  She  took  a  hasty  leave  of  her 
companion,  and  was  about  to  trip  away  towards  the  hut 
of  the  other  woman,  when  Muir  arrested  the  movement 
by  laying  a  hand  on  her  arm. 

"One  word,  Mabel,"  said  he,  "before  you  leave  me. 
This  little  flag  may,  or  it  may  not,  have  a  particular 
meaning;  if  it  has,  now  that  we  are  aware  of  its  being 
shown,  may  it  not  be  better  to  put  it  back  again,  while 
we  watch  vigilantly  for  some  answer  that  may  betray  the 
conspiracy;  and  if  it  mean  nothing,  why,  nothing  will 
follow." 

"This  may  be  all  right,  Mr.  Muir,  though,  if  the  whole 
is  accidental,  the  flag  might  be  the  occasion  of  the  fort's 
being  discovered. ' ' 

Mabel  stayed  to  utter  no  more;  but  she  was  soon  out 
of  sight,  running  into  the  hut  towards  which  she  had  been 
first  proceeding.  The  quartermaster  remained  on  the 
very  spot  and  in  the  precise  attitude  in  which  she  had  left 
him  for  quite  a  minute,  first  looking  at  the  bounding 
figure  of  the  girl  and  then  at  the  bit  of  bunting,  which 


334  THE  PATHFINDER 

he  still  held  before  him  in  a  way  to  denote  indecision. 
His  irresolution  lasted  but  for  this  minute,  however;  for 
he  was  soon  beneath  the  tree,  where  he  fastened  the 
mimic  flag  to  a  branch  again,  though,  from  his  ignorance 
of  the  precise  spot  from  which  it  had  been  taken  by 
Mabel,  he  left  it  fluttering  from  a  part  of  the  oak  where 
it  was  still  more  exposed  than  before  to  the  eyes  of  any 
passenger  on  the  river,  though  less  in  view  from  the 
island  itself. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

"  Each  one  has  had  his  supping  mess, 
The  cheese  is  put  into  the  press, 
The  pans  and  bowls,  clean  scalded  all, 
Reared  up  against  the  milk-house  wall." 

—OTTO. 

IT  seemed  strange  to  Mabel  Dunham,  as  she  passed 
along  on  her  way  to  find  her  female  companion,  that  others 
should  be  so  composed,  while  she  herself  felt  as  if  the 
responsibilities  of  life  and  death  rested  on  her  shoulders. 
It  is  true  that  distrust  of  June's  motives  mingled  with 
her  forebodings;  but  when  she  came  to  recall  the  affec 
tionate  and  natural  manner  of  the  young  Indian  girl,  and 
all  the  evidences  of  good  faith  and  sincerity  she  had  seen 
in  her  conduct  during  the  familiar  intercourse  of  their 
journey,  she  rejected  the  idea  with  the  unwillingness  of 
a  generous  disposition  to  believe  ill  of  others.  She  saw, 
however,  that  she  could  not  put  her  companions  properly 
on  their  guard  without  letting  them  into  the  secret  of  her 
conference  with  June;  and  she  found  herself  compelled 
to  act  cautiously  and  with  a  forethought  to  which  she 
was  unaccustomed,  more  especially  in  a  matter  of  so  much 
moment. 

The  soldier's  wife  was  told  to  transport  the  necessaries 
into  the  blockhouse,  and  admonished  not  to  be  far  from 
it  at  any  time  during  the  day.  Mabel  did  not  explain 
her  reasons.  She  merely  stated  that  she  had  detected  some 
signs  in  walking  about  the  island,  which  induced  her  to 
apprehend  that  the  enemy  had  more  knowledge  of  its 
position  than  had  been  previously  believed,  and  that  they 
two  at  least,  would  do  well  to  be  in  readiness  to  seek  a 
refuge  at  the  shortest  notice.  It  was  not  difficult  to 
arouse  the  apprehension  of  this  person,  who,  though  a 
stout-hearted  Scotchwoman,  was  ready  enough  to  listen 
to  anything  that  confirmed  her  dread  of  Indian  cruelties. 
As  soon  as  Mabel  believed  that  her  companion  was  suffi- 

335 


336  THE  PATHFINDER 

ciently  frightened  to  make  her  wary,  she  threw  out  some 
hints  touching  the  inexpediency  of  letting  the  soldiers 
know  the  extent  of  their  own  fears.  This  was  done  with 
a  view  to  prevent  discussions  and  inquiries  that  might 
embarrass  our  heroine,  she  determining  to  render  her 
uncle,  the  corporal,  and  his  men  more  cautious,  by  adopt 
ing  a  different  course.  Unfortunately,  the  British  army 
could  not  have  furnished  a  worse  person  for  the  particular 
duty  that  he  was  now  required  to  discharge  than  Corporal 
M'Nab,  the  individual  who  had  been  left  in  command 
during  the  absence  of  Sergeant  Dunham.  On  the  one 
hand,  he  was  resolute,  prompt,  familiar  with  all  the  de 
tails  of  a  soldier's  life,  and  used  to  war;  on  the  other,  he 
was  supercilious  as  regards  the  provincials,  opinionated 
on  every  subject  connected  with  the  narrow  limits  of  his 
professional  practice,  much  disposed  to  fancy  the  British 
empire  the  center  of  all  that  is  excellent  in  the  world, 
and  Scotland  the  focus  of,  at  least,  all  moral  excellence 
in  that  empire.  In  short,  he  was  an  epitome,  though  on 
a  scale  suited  to  his  rank,  of  those  very  qualities  which 
were  so  peculiar  to  the  servants  of  the  crown  that  were 
sent  into  the  colonies,  as  these  servants  estimated  them 
selves  in  comparison  with  the  natives  of  the  country;  or, 
in  other  words,  he  considered  the  American  as  an  animal 
inferior  to  the  parent  stock,  and  viewed  all  his  notions 
of  military  service,  in  particular,  as  undigested  and 
absurd.  A  more  impracticable  subject,  therefore,  could 
not  well  have  offered  for  the  purpose  of  Mabel,  and  yet 
she  felt  obliged  to  lose  no  time  in  putting  her  plan  in 
execution. 

"My  father  has  left  you  a  responsible  command,  corpo 
ral,"  she  said,  as  soon  as  she  could  catch  M'Nab  a  little 
apart;  "for  should  the  island  fall  into  the  hands  of  the 
enemy,  not  only  should  we  be  captured,  but  the  party 
that  is  now  out  would  in  all  probability  become  their 
prisoners  also." 

"It  needs  no  journey  from  Scotland  to  this  place  to 
know  the  facts  needful  to  be  o'  that  way  of  thinking," 
returned  M'Nab  drily. 

"I  do  not  doubt  your  understanding  it  as  well  as  myself, 
Mr.  M'Nab,  but  I'm  fearful  that  you  veterans,  accus- 


THE  PATHFINDER  337 

tomed  as  you  are  to  dangers  and  battles,  are  a  little  apt 
to  overlook  some  of  the  precautions  that  may  be  necessary 
in  a  situation  as  peculiar  as  ours." 

"They  say  Scotland  is  no  conquered  country,  young 
woman,  but  I'm  thinking  there  must  be  some  mistak'  in 
the  matter,  as  we,  her  children,  are  so  drowsy-headed 
and  apt  to  be  o'ertaken  when  we  least  expect  it." 

"Nay,  my  good  friend,  you  mistake  my  meaning.  In 
the  first  place,  I'm  not  thinking  of  Scotland  at  all,  but  of 
this  island;  and  then  I  am  far  from  doubting  your  vigi 
lance  when  you  think  it  necessary  to  practise  it;  but  my 
great  fear  is  that  there  may  be  danger  to  which  your 
courage  will  make  you  indifferent." 

"My  courage,  Mistress  Dunham,  is  doubtless  of  a  very 
poor  quality,  being  nothing  but  Scottish  courage;  your 
father's  is  Yankee,  and  were  he  here  amang  us  we  should 
see  different  preparations,  beyond  a  doubt.  Well,  times 
are  getting  wrang,  when  foreigners  hold  commissions  and 
carry  halberds  in  Scottish  corps;  and  I  no  wonder  that 
battles  are  lost,  and  campaigns  go  wrang  end  foremost." 

Mabel  was  almost  in  despair;  but  the  quiet  warning  of 
June  was  still  too  vividly  impressed  on  her  mind  to  allow 
her  to  yield  the  matter.  She  changed  her  mode  of  oper 
ating,  therefore,  still  clinging  to  the  hope  of  getting  the 
whole  party  within  the  blockhouse,  without  being  com 
pelled  to  betray  the  source  whence  she  obtained  her  notices 
of  the  necessity  of  vigilance. 

"I  daresay  you  are  right,  Corporal  M'Nab, "  she  ob 
served;  "for  I've  often  heard  of  the  heroes  of  your  coun 
try,  who  have  been  among  the  first  of  the  civilized  world, 
if  what  they  tell  me  of  them  is  true." 

"Have  you  read  the  history  of  Scotland,  Mistress  Dun 
ham?"  demanded  the  corporal,  looking  up  at  his  pretty 
companion,  for  the  first  time  with  something  like  a  smile 
upon  his  hard,  repulsive  countenance. 

"I  have  read  a  little  of  it,  corporal,  but  I've  heard  much 
more.  The  lady  who  brought  me  up  had  Scottish  blood  in 
her  veins,  and  was  fond  of  the  subject. ' ' 

"I'll  warrant  ye,  the  sergeant  no'  troubled  himself  to 
expatiate  on  the  renown  of  the  country  where  his  regiment 
was  raised?" 
22 


338  THE  PATHFINDER 

"My  father  has  other  things  to  think  of,  and  the  little 
I  know  was  got  from  the  lady  I  have  mentioned." 

"She'll  no'  be  forgetting  to  tall  ye  o'  Wallace?" 

"Of  him  I've  even  read  a  good  deal." 

"And  o'  Bruce,  and  the  affair  of  Bannockburn?" 

"Of  that,  too,  as  well  as  of  Culloden  Muir. " 

The  last  of  these  battles  was  then  a  recent  event,  it 
having  actually  been  fought  within  the  recollection  of  our 
heroine,  whose  notions  of  it,  however,  were  so  confused 
that  she  scarcely  appreciated  the  effect  her  allusion  might 
produce  on  her  companion.  She  knew  it  had  been  a  vic 
tory,  and  had  often  heard  the  guests  of  her  patrons  men 
tion  it  with  triumph;  and  she  fancied  their  feelings  would 
find  a  sympathetic  chord  in  those  of  every  British  soldier. 
Unfortunately,  M'Nab  had  fought  throughout  that  luck 
less  day  on  the  side  of  the  Pretender;  and  a  deep  scar  that 
garnished  his  face  had  been  left  there  by  the  saber  of  a 
German  soldier  in  the  service  of  the  House  of  Hanover. 
He  fancied  that  his  wound  bled  afresh  at  Mabel's  allu 
sion;  and  it  is  certain  that  the  blood  rushed  to  his  face 
in  a  torrent,  as  if  it  would  pour  out  of  his  skin  at  the 
cicatrix. 

"Hoot!  hoot  awa'!"  he  fairly  shouted,  "with  your 
Culloden  and  Sherriff  muirs,  young  woman;  ye'll  no'  be 
understanding  the  subject  at  all,  and  will  manifest  not 
only  wisdom  but  modesty  in  speaking  o'  your  ain  country 
and  its  many  failings.  King  George  has  some  loyal  sub 
jects  in  the  colonies,  na  doubt,  but  'twill  be  a  lang  time 
before  he  sees  or  hears  any  guid  of  them." 

Mabel  was  surprised  at  the  corporal's  heat,  for  she  had 
not  the  smallest  idea  where  the  shoe  pinched;  but  she 
was  determined  not  to  give  up  the  point. 

"I've  always  heard  that  the  Scotch  had  two  of  the  good 
qualities  of  soldiers,"  she  said,  "courage  and  circum 
spection;  and  I  feel  persuaded  that  Corporal  M'Nab  will 
sustain  the  national  renown." 

"Ask  yer  own  father,  Mistress  Dunham;  he  is  acquaint' 
with  Corporal  M'Nab,  and  will  no'  be  backward  to  point 
out  his  demerits.  We  have  been  in  battle  thegither,  and 
he  is  my  superior  officer,  and  has  a  sort  o'  official  right 
to  give  the  characters  of  his  subordinates." 


THE  PATHFINDER  339 

"My  father  thinks  well  of  you,  M'Nab,  or  he  would 
not  have  left  you  in  charge  of  this  island  and  all  it  con 
tains,  his  own  daughter  included.  Among  other  things, 
I  well  know  that  he  calculates  largely  on  your  prudence. 
He  expects  the  blockhouse  in  particular  to  be  strictly 
attended  to." 

"If  he  wishes  to  defend  the  honor  of  the  55th  behind 
logs,  he  ought  to  have  remained  in  command  himsel'; 
for,  to  speak  frankly,  it  goes  against  a  Scotchman's  bluid 
and  opinions  to  be  beaten  out  of  the  field  even  before  he 
is  attacked.  We  are  broadsword  men,  and  love  to  stand 
foot  to  foot  with  the  foe.  This  American  mode  of  fight 
ing,  that  is  getting  into  so  much  favor,  will  destroy  the 
reputation  of  his  Majesty's  army,  if  it  no'  destroy  its 
spirit." 

"No  true  soldier  despises  caution.  Even  Major  Duncan 
himself,  than  whom  there  is  none  braver,  is  celebrated 
for  his  care  of  his  men." 

"Lundie  has  his  weakness,  and  is  fast  forgetting  the 
broadsword  and  open  heaths  in  his  tree  and  rifle  practise. 
But,  Mistress  Dunham,  tak'  the  word  of  an  old  soldier, 
who  has  seen  his  fifty-fifth  year,  when  he  tails  ye  that 
there  is  no  surer  method  to  encourage  your  enemy  than  to 
seem  to  fear  him;  and  that  there  is  no  danger  in  this 
Indian  warfare  that  the  fancies  and  imaginations  of  your 
Americans  have  not  enlarged  upon,  until  they  see  a  savage 
in  every  bush.  We  Scots  come  from  a  naked  region,  and 
have  no  need  and  less  relish  for  covers,  and  so  ye' 11  be 
seeing,  Mistress  Dunham — 

The  corporal  gave  a  spring  into  the  air,  fell  forward  on 
his  face,  and  rolled  over  on  his  back,  the  whole  passing  so 
suddenly  that  Mabel  had  scarcely  heard  the  sharp  crack  of 
the  rifle  that  had  sent  a  bullet  through  his  body.  Our 
heroine  did  not  shriek — did  not  even  tremble;  for  the 
occurrence  was  too  sudden,  too  awful,  and  too  unexpected 
for  that  exhibition  of  weakness;  on  the  contrary,  she 
stepped  hastily  forward,  with  a  natural  impulse  to  aid 
her  companion.  There  was  just  enough  of  life  left  in 
M'Nab  to  betray  his  entire  consciousness  of  all  that  had 
passed.  His  countenance  had  the  wild  look  of  one  who  had 
been  overtaken  by  death  by  surprise;  and  Mabel,  in  her 


340  THE  PATHFINDER 

cooler  moments,  fancied  that  it  showed  the  tardy  repen 
tance  of  a  wilful  and  obstinate  sinner. 

"Ye'll  be  getting  into  the  blockhouse  as  fast  as  possi 
ble,"  M' Nab  whispered,  as  Mabel  leaned  over  him  to  catch 
his  dying  words. 

Then  came  over  our  heroine  the  full  consciousness  of 
her  situation  and  of  the  necessity  of  exertion.  She  cast  a 
rapid  glance  at  the  body  at  her  feet,  saw  that  it  had  ceased 
to  breathe,  and  fled.  It  was  but  a  few  minutes'  run  to 
the  blockhouse,  the  door  of  which  Mabel  had  barely  gained 
when  it  was  closed  violently  in  her  face  by  Jennie,  the 
soldier's  wife,  who  in  blind  terror  thought  only  of  her 
own  safety.  The  reports  of  five  or  six  rifles  were  heard 
while  Mabel  was  calling  out  for  admittance;  and  the  ad 
ditional  terror  they  produced  prevented  the  woman  within 
from  undoing  quickly  the  very  fastenings  she  had  been  so 
expert  in  applying.  After  a  minute's  delay,  however, 
Mabel  found  the  door  reluctantly  yielding  to  her  constant 
pressure,  and  she  forced  her  slender  body  through  the 
opening  the  instant  it  was  large  enough  to  allow  of  its 
passage.  By  this  time  Mabel's  heart  ceased  to  beat 
tumultuously  and  she  gained  sufficient  self-command  to 
act  collectedly.  Instead  of  yielding  to  the  almost  convul 
sive  efforts  of  her  companion  to  close  the  door  again,  she 
held  it  open  long  enough  to  ascertain  that  none  of  her 
own  party  was  in  sight,  or  likely  on  the  instant  to  en 
deavor  to  gain  admission;  then  she  allowed  the  opening 
to  be  shut.  Her  orders  and  proceedings  now  became  more 
calm  and  rational.  But  a  single  bar  was  crossed,  and  Jen 
nie  was  directed  to  stand  in  readiness  to  remove  even 
that  at  any  application  from  a  friend.  She  then  ascended 
the  ladder  to  the  room  above,  where  by  means  of  a  loop 
hole  she  was  enabled  to  get  as  good  a  view  of  the  island 
as  the  surrounding  bushes  would  allow.  Admonishing 
her  associate  below  to  be  firm  and  steady,  she  made  as 
careful  an  examination  of  the  environs  as  her  situation 
permitted. 

To  her  great  surprise,  Mabel  could  not  at  first  see  a 
living  soul  on  the  island,  friend  or  enemy.  Neither 
Frenchman  or  Indian  was  visible,  though  a  small  strag 
gling  white  cloud  that  was  floating  before  the  wind  told 


THE  PATHFINDER  341 

her  in  which  quarter  she  ought  to  look  for  them.  The 
rifles  had  been  discharged  from  the  direction  of  the  island 
whence  June  had  come,  though  whether  the  enemy  were 
on  that  island,  or  had  actually  landed  on  her  own,  Mabel 
could  not  say.  Going  to  the  loop  that  commanded  a  view 
of  the  spot  where  M'Nab  lay,  her  blood  curdled  at  per 
ceiving  all  three  of  his  soldiers  lying  apparently  lifeless 
at  his  side.  These  men  had  rushed  to  a  common  center 
at  the  first  alarm,  and  had  been  shot  down  almost  simul 
taneously  by  the  invisible  foe  whom  the  corporal  had 
affected  to  despise. 

Neither  Cap  nor  Lieutenant  Muirwas  to  be  seen.  With 
a  beating  heart,  Mabel  examined  every  opening  through 
the  trees,  and  ascended  even  to  the  upper  story  or  garret 
of  the  blockhouse,  where  she  got  a  full  view  of  the  whole 
island,  so  far  as  its  covers  would  allow,  but  with  no  bet 
ter  success.  She  had  expected  to  see  the  body  of  her  uncle 
lying  on  the  grass  like  those  of  the  soldiers,  but  it  was 
nowhere  visible.  Turning  towards  the  spot  where  the 
boat  lay,  Mabel  saw  that  it  was  still  fastened  to  the  shore; 
and  then  she  supposed  that  by  some  accident  Muir  had 
been  prevented  from  effecting  his  retreat  in  that  quarter. 
In  short,  the  island  lay  in  the  quiet  of  the  grave,  the 
bodies  of  the  soldiers  rendering  the  scene  as  fearful  as  it 
was  extraordinary. 

"For  God's  holy  sake,  Mistress  Mabel,"  called  out  the 
woman  from  below;  for,  though  her  fear  had  become  too 
ungovernable  to  allow  her  to  keep  silence,  our  heroine's 
superior  refinement,  more  than  the  regimental  station  of 
her  father,  still  controlled  her  mode  of  address.  "Mis 
tress  Mabel,  tell  me  if  any  of  our  friends  are  living!  I 
think  I  hear  groans  that  grow  fainter  and  fainter,  and 
fear  that  they  will  all  be  tomahawked!" 

Mabel  now  remembered  that  one  of  the  soldiers  was 
this  woman's  husband,  and  she  trembled  at  what  might 
be  the  immediate  effect  of  her  sorrow,  should  his  death 
become  suddenly  known  to  her.  The  groans,  too,  gave  a 
little  hope,  though  she  feared  they  might  come  from  her 
uncle,  who  lay  out  of  view. 

"We  are  in  His  holy  keeping,  Jennie,"  she  answered. 
"We  must  trust  in  Providence,  while  we  neglect  none  of 


342  THE  PATHFINDER 

its  benevolent  means  of  protecting  ourselves.  Be  careful 
with  the  door;  on  no  account  open  it  without  my  direc 
tions." 

"Oh,  tell  me,  Mistress  Mabel,  if  you  can  anywhere  see 
Sandy!  If  I  could  only  let  him  know  that  I'm  in  safety, 
the  guid  man  would  be  easier  in  his  mind,  whether  free 
or  a  prisoner." 

Sandy  was  Jennie's  husband,  and  he  lay  dead  in  plain 
view  of  the  loop  from  which  our  heroine  was  then  looking. 

'  'You  no'  tell  me  if  you're  seeing  of  Sandy, ' '  the  woman 
repeated  from  below,  impatient  at  Mabel's  silence. 

"There  are  some  of  our  people  gathered  about  the  body 
of  M'Nab, "  was  the  answer;  for  it  seemed  sacrilegious 
in  her  eyes  to  tell  a  direct  untruth  under  the  awful  cir 
cumstances  in  which  she  was  placed. 

"Is  Sandy  amang  them?"  demanded  the  woman,  in  a 
voice  that  sounded  appalling  by  its  hoarseness  and  energy. 

"He  may  be  certainly;  for  I  see  one,  two,  three,  four, 
and  all  in  the  scarlet  coats  of  the  regiment." 

"Sandy!"  called  out  the  woman  frantically;  "why d'ye 
no'  care  for  yoursal' ,  Sandy?  Come  hither  the  instant, 
man,  and  share  your  wife's  fortunes  in  weal  or  woe.  It's 
no'  a  moment  for  your  silly  discipline  and  vainglorious 
notions  of  honor!  Sandy!  Sandy!" 

Mabel  heard  the  bar  turn,  and  then  the  door  creaked  on 
its  hinges.  Expectation,  not  to  say  terror,  held  her  in 
suspense  at  the  loop,  and  she  soon  beheld  Jennie  rushing 
through  the  bushes  in  the  direction  of  the  cluster  of  the 
dead.  It  took  the  woman  but  an  instant  to  reach  the  fatal 
spot.  So  sudden  and  unexpected  had  been  the  blow,  that 
she  in  her  terror  did  not  appear  to  comprehend  its  weight. 
Some  wild  and  half-frantic  notion  of  a  deception  troubled 
her  fancy,  and  she  imagined  that  the  men  were  trifling 
with  her  fears.  She  took  her  husband's  hand,  and  it  was 
still  warm,  while  she  thought  a  covert  smile  was  strug 
gling  on  his  lip. 

"Why  will  ye  fool  life  away,  Sandy?"  she  cried,  pull 
ing  at  the  arm.  "Ye'll  all  be  murdered  by  these  accursed 
Indians,  and  you  no'  takin'  to  the  block  like  trusty  soldiers! 
Awa'!  awa'!  and  no'  be  losing  the  precious  moments." 

In  her  desperate  efforts,  the  woman  pulled  the  body  of 


THE  PATHFINDER  343 

her  husband  in  away  to  cause  the  head  to  turn  completely 
over,  when  the  small  hole  in  the  temple,  caused  by  the 
entrance  of  a  rifle  bullet,  and  a  few  drops  of  blood  trick 
ling  over  the  skin,  revealed  the  meaning  of  her  husband's 
silence.  As  the  horrid  truth  flashed  in  its  full  extent  on 
her  mind,  the  woman  clasped  her  hands,  gave  a  shriek 
that  pierced  the  glades  of  every  island  near,  and  fell  at 
length  on  the  dead  body  of  the  soldier.  Thrilling,  heart- 
reaching,  appalling  as  was  that  shriek,  it  was  melody  to 
the  cry  that  followed  it  so  quickly  as  to  blend  the  sounds. 
The  terrific  war-whoop  arose  out  of  the  covers  of  the 
island,  and  some  twenty  savages,  horrible  in  their  paint 
and  the  other  devices  of  Indian  ingenuity,  rushed  forward, 
eager  to  secure  the  coveted  scalps.  Arrowhead  was  fore 
most,  and  it  was  his  tomahawk  that  brained  the  insensi 
ble  Jennie;  and  her  reeking  hair  was  hanging  at  his 
girdle  as  a  trophy  in  less  than  two  minutes  after  she  had 
quitted  the  blockhouse.  His  companions  were  equally 
active,  and  M'Nab  and  his  soldiers  no  longer  presented 
the  quiet  aspect  of  men  who  slumbered.  They  were  left 
in  their  gore,  unequivocally  butchered  corpses. 

All  this  passed  in  much  less  time  than  has  been  required 
to  relate  it,  and  all  this  did  Mabel  witness.  She  had 
stood  riveted  to  the  spot,  gazing  on  the  whole  horrible 
scene,  as  if  enchained  by  some  charm,  nor  did  the  idea  of 
self  or  of  her  own  danger  once  obtrude  itself  on  her 
thoughts.  But  no  sooner  did  she  perceive  the  place  where 
the  men  had  fallen  covered  with  savages,  exulting  in  the 
success  of  their  surprise,  than  it  occurred  to  her  that 
Jennie  had  left  the  blockhouse  door  unbarred.  Her  heart 
beat  violently,  for  that  defense  alone  stood  between  her 
and  immediate  death,  and  she  sprang  toward  the  ladder 
with  the  intention  of  descending  to  make  sure  of  it.  Her 
foot  had  not  yet  reached  the  floor  of  the  second  story, 
however,  when  she  heard  the  door  grating  on  its  hinges, 
and  she  gave  herself  up  for  lost.  Sinking  on  her  knees, 
the  terrified  but  courageous  girl  endeavored  to  prepare 
herself  for  death,  and  to  raise  her  thoughts  to  God.  The 
instinct  of  life,  however,  was  too  strong  for  prayer,  and 
while  her  lips  moved,  the  jealous  senses  watched  every 
sound  beneath.  When  her  ears  heard  the  bars,  which 


344  THE  PATHFINDER 

went  on  pivots  secured  to  the  center  of  the  door,  turning 
into  their  fastenings,  not  one,  as  she  herself  had  directed, 
with  a  view  to  admit  her  uncle  should  he  apply,  but  all 
three,  she  started  again  to  her  feet,  all  spiritual  contem 
plations  vanishing  in  her  actual  temporal  condition,  and 
it  seemed  as  if  all  her  faculties  were  absorbed  in  the 
sense  of  hearing. 

The  thoughts  are  active  in  a  moment  so  fearful.  At 
first  Mabel  fancied  that  her  uncle  had  entered  the  block 
house,  and  she  was  about  to  descend  the  ladder  and  throw 
herself  into  his  arms;  then  the  idea  that  it  might  be  an 
Indian,  who  had  barred  the  door  to  shut  out  intruders 
while  he  'plundered  at  leisure,  arrested  the  movement. 
The  profound  stillness  below  was  unlike  the  bold,  restless 
movements  of  Cap,  and  it  seemed  to  savor  more  of  the  ar 
tifices  of  an  enemy.  If  a  friend  at  all,  it  could  only  be 
her  uncle  or  the  quartermaster;  for  the  horrible  convic 
tion  now  presented  itself  to  our  heroine  that  to  these  two 
and  herself  were  the  whole  party  suddenly  reduced,  if,  in 
deed,  the  two  latter  survived.  This  consideration  held 
Mabel  in  check,  and  for  full  two  minutes  more  a  breath 
less  silence  reigned  in  the  building.  During  this  time  the 
girl  stood  at  the  foot  of  the  upper  ladder,  the  trap  which 
led  to  the  lower  opening  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  floor; 
the  eyes  of  Mabel  were  riveted  on  this  spot,  for  she  now 
began  to  expect  to  see  at  each  instant  the  horrible  sight 
of  a  savage  face  at  the  hole.  This  apprehension  soon  be 
came  so  intense,  that  she  looked  about  her  for  a  place  of 
concealment.  The  procrastination  of  the  catastrophe  she 
now  fully  expected,  though  it  were  only  for  a  moment, 
afforded  a  relief.  The  room  contained  several  barrels; 
and  behind  two  of  these  Mabel  crouched,  placing  her  eyes 
at  an  opening  by  which  she  could  still  watch  the  trap. 
She  made  another  effort  to  pray ;  but  the  moment  was  too 
horrible  for  that  relief.  She  thought,  too,  that  she  heard 
a  low  rustling,  as  if  one  were  ascending  the  lower  ladder 
with  an  effort  at  caution  so  great  as  to  betray  itself  by 
its  own  excess;  then  followed  a  creaking  that  she  was  cer 
tain  came  from  one  of  the  steps  of  the  ladder,  which  had 
made  the  same  noise  under  her  own  light  weight  as  she 
ascended.  This  was  one  of  those  instants  in  which  are 


THE  PATHFINDER  345 

compressed  the  sensations  of  years  of  ordinary  existence. 
Life,  death,  eternity,  and  extreme  bodily  pain  were  all 
standing  out  in  bold  relief  from  the  plane  of  every-day 
occurrences;  and  she  might  have  been  taken  at  that  mo 
ment  for  a  beautiful  pallid  representation  of  herself, 
equally  without  motion  and  without  vitality.  But  while 
such  was  the  outward  appearance  of  the  form,  never  had 
there  been  a  time  in  her  brief  career  when  Mabel  heard 
more  acutely,  saw  more  clearly,  or  felt  more  vividly. 
As  yet,  nothing  was  visible  at  the  trap,  but  her  ears,  ren 
dered  exquisitely  sensitive  by  intense  feeling,  distinctly 
acquainted  her  that  some  one  was  within  a  few  inches  of 
the  opening  in  the  floor.  Next  followed  the  evidence  of 
her  eyes,  which  beheld  the  dark  hair  of  an  Indian  rising 
so  slowly  through  the  passage  that  the  movements  of  the 
head  might  be  likened  to  that  of  the  minute-hand  of  a 
clock;  then  came  the  dark  skin  and  wild  features,  until 
the  whole  of  the  swarthy  face  had  risen  above  the  floor. 
The  human  countenance  seldom  appears  to  advantage  when 
partially  concealed;  and  Mabel  imagined  many  additional 
horrors  as  she  first  saw  the  black,  roving  eyes  and  the  ex 
pression  of  wildness  as  the  savage  countenance  was  re 
vealed,  as  it  might  be,  inch  by  inch;  but  when  the  entire 
head  was  raised  above  the  floor,  a  second  and  a  better 
look  assured  our  heroine  that  she  saw  the  gentle,  anxious, 
and  even  handsome  face  of  June. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

"Spectre  though  I  be, 
I  am  not  sent  to  scare  thee  or  deceive, 
But  in  reward  of  thy  fidelity." 

-  WORDSWORTH. 

IT  would  be  difficult  to  say  which  evinced  the  most 
satisfaction,  when  Mabel  sprang  to  her  feet  and  appeared 
in  the  center  of  the  room,  our  heroine,  on  finding  that 
her  visitor  was  the  wife  of  Arrowhead,  and  not  Arrow 
head  himself,  or  June,  at  discovering  that  her  advice  had 
been  followed,  and  that  the  blockhouse  contained  the  per 
son  she  had  so  anxiously  and  almost  hopelessly  sought. 
They  embraced  each  other,  and  the  unsophisticated  Tusca- 
rora  woman  laughed  in  her  sweet  accents  as  she  held  her 
friend  at  arm's  length,  and  made  certain  of  her  presence. 

"Blockhouse  good,"  said  the  young  Indian;  "got  no 
scalp. ' ' 

"It  is  indeed  good,  June,"  Mabel  answered,  with  a 
shudder,  veiling  her  eyes  at  the  same  time,  as  if  to  shut 
out  a  view  of  the  horrors  she  had  so  lately  witnessed. 
"Tell  me,  for  God's  sake,  if  you  know  what  has  become 
of  my  dear  uncle!  I  have  looked  in  all  directions  without 
being  able  to  see  him." 

"No  here  in  blockhouse?"  June  asked,  with  some 
curiosity. 

"Indeed  he  is  not;  I  am  quite  alone  in  this  place;  Jen 
nie,  the  woman  who  was  with  me,  having  rushed  out  to 
join  her  husband,  and  perishing  for  her  imprudence." 

"June  know,  June  see;  very  bad,  Arrowhead  no  feel 
for  any  wife;  no  feel  for  his  own." 

"Ah,  dune,  your  life,  at  least,  is  safe!" 

"Don't  know;  Arrowhead  kill  me,  if  he  know  all." 

"God  bless  and  protect  you,  June!  He  will  bless  and 
protect  you  for  this  humanity.  Tell  me  what  is  to  be 
done,  and  if  my  poor  uncle  is  still  living?" 

346 


THE  PATHFINDER  347 

"Don't  know.  Saltwater  has  boat;  maybe  he  go  on 
river." 

"The  boat  is  still  on  the  shore,  but  neither  my  uncle 
nor  the  quartermaster  is  anywhere  to  be  seen. ' ' 

"No  kill,  or  June  would  see.  Hide  away!  Red  man 
hide ;  no  shame  for  pale  face. ' ' 

"It  is  not  the  shame  that  I  fear  for  them,  but  the  op 
portunity.  Your  attack  was  awfully  sudden,  June!" 

"Tuscarora!"  returned  the  other,  smiling  with  exulta 
tion  at  the  dexterity  of  her  husband.  "Arrowhead  great 
warrior!" 

"You  are  too  good  and  gentle  for  this  sort  of  life, 
June;  you  cannot  be  happy  in  such  scenes?" 

June's  countenance  grew  clouded,  and  Mabel  fancied 
there  was  some  of  the  savage  fire  of  a  chief  in  her  frown 
as  she  answered: 

"Yengeese  too  greedy,  take  away  all  hunting-grounds; 
chase  Six  Nation  from  morning  to  night;  wicked  king, 
wicked  people.  Pale  face  very  bad." 

Mabel  knew  that,  even  in  that  distant  day,  there  was 
much  truth  in  this  opinion,  though  she  was  too  well  in 
structed  not  to  understand  that  the  monarch,  in  this,  as 
in  a  thousand  other  cases,  was  blamed  for  acts  of  which 
he  was  most  probably  ignorant.  She  felt  the  justice  of 
the  rebuke,  therefore,  too  much  to  attempt  an  answer,  and 
her  thoughts  naturally  reverted  to  her  own  situation. 

"And  what  am  I  to  do,  June?"  she  demanded.  "It 
cannot  be  long  before  your  people  will  assault  this  build 
ing." 

"Blockhouse  good — got  no  scalp." 

"But  they  will  soon  discover  that  it  has  got  no  garrison, 
too,  if  they  do  not  know  it  already.  You  yourself  told 
me  the  number  of  people  that  were  on  the  island,  and 
doubtless  you  learned  it  from  Arrowhead. ' ' 

"Arrowhead  know,"  answered  June,  holding  up  six 
fingers,  to  indicate  the  number  of  the  men.  "All  red 
men  know.  Four  lose  scalp  already;  two  got  'em  yet." 

"Do  not  speak  of  it,  June;  the  horrid  thought  curdles 
my  blood.  Your  people  cannot  know  that  I  am  alone  in 
the  blockhouse,  but  may  fancy  my  uncle  and  the  quarter 
master  with  me,  and  may  set  fire  to  the  building,  in  order 


348  THE  PATHFINDER 

to  dislodge  them.  They  tell  me  that  fire  is  the  great  danger 
to  such  places. ' ' 

"No  burn  blockhouse,"  said  June  quietly. 

"You  cannot  know  that,  my  good  June,  and  I  have  no 
means  to  keep  them  off. ' ' 

"No  burn  blockhouse.    Blockhouse  good;  got  no  scalp. " 

"But  tell  me  why,  June;  I  fear  they  will  burn  it." 

"Blockhouse  wet — much  rain — logs  green — no  burn 
easy.  Red  man  know  it — fine  t'ing — then  no  burn  it  to 
tell  Yengeese  that  Iroquois  been  here.  Fader  come  back, 
miss  blockhouse,  no  found.  No,  no;  Indian  too  much 
cunning;  no  touch  anything. " 

"I  understand  you,  June,  and  hope  your  prediction 
may  be  true;  for,  as  regards  my  dear  father,  should  he 
escape — perhaps  he  is  already  dead  or  captured,  June?" 

"No  touch  fader — don't  know  where  he  gone — water 
got  no  trail — red  man  can't  follow.  No  burn  blockhouse 
— blockhouse  good ;  got  no  scalp. ' ' 

"Do  you  think  it  possible  for  me  to  remain  here  safely 
until  my  father  returns?" 

"Don't  know;  daughter  tell  best  when  fader  come 
back." 

Mabel  felt  uneasy  at  the  glance  of  June's  dark  eye  as 
she  uttered  this;  for  the  unpleasant  surmise  arose  that 
her  companion  was  endeavoring  to  discover  a  fact  that 
might  be  useful  to  her  own  people,  while  it  would  lead  to 
the  destruction  of  her  parent  and  his  party.  She  was 
about  to  make  an  evasive  answer,  when  a  heavy  push  at 
the  outer  door  suddenly  drew  all  her  thoughts  to  the  im 
mediate  danger. 

"They  come!"  she  exclaimed.  "Perhaps,  June,  it  is 
my  uncle  or  the  quartermaster.  I  cannot  keep  out  even 
Mr.  Muir  at  a  moment  like  this. ' ' 

"Why  no  look?  plenty  loophole,  made  purpose." 

Mabel  took  the  hint,  and,  going  to  one  of  the  down 
ward  loops,  that  had  been  cut  through  the  logs  in  the 
part  that  overhung  the  basement,  she  cautiously  raised 
the  little  block  that  ordinarily  filled  the  small  hole,  and 
caught  a  glance  at  what  was  passing  at  the  door.  The 
start  and  changing  countenance  told  her  companion  that 
some  of  her  own  people  were  below. 


THE  PATHFINDER  349 

"Red  man,"  said  June,  lifting  a  finger  in  admonition 
to  be  prudent. 

"Four;  and  horrible  in  their  paint  and  bloody  trophies. 
Arrowhead  is  among  them." 

June  had  moved  to  a  corner,  where  several  spare  rifles 
had  been  deposited,  and  had  already  taken  one  into  her 
hand,  when  the  name  of  her  husband  appeared  to  arrest 
her  movements.  It  was  but  for  an  instant,  however,  for 
she  immediately  went  to  the  loop,  and  was  about  to  thrust 
the  muzzle  of  the  piece  through  it,  when  a  feeling  of 
natural  aversion  induced  Mabel  to  seize  her  arm. 

"No,  no,  no,  June!"  said  the  latter;  "not  against  your 
own  husband,  though  my  life  be  the  penalty." 

"No  hurt  Arrowhead,"  returned  June,  with  a  slight 
shudder;  "no  hurt  red  man  at  all.  No  fire  at  'em;  only 
scare." 

Mabel  now  comprehended  the  intention  of  June,  and 
no  longer  opposed  it.  The  latter  thrust  the  muzzle  of  the 
rifle  through  the  loophole;  and,  taking  care  to  make  noise 
enough  to  attract  attention,  she  pulled  the  trigger.  The 
piece  had  no  sooner  been  discharged  than  Mabel  reproached 
her  friend  for  the  very  act  that  was  intended  to  serve 
her. 

"You  declared  it  was  not  your  intention  to  fire,"  she 
said,  "and  you  may  have  destroyed  your  own  husband." 

"All  run  away  before  I  fire,"  returned  June,  laughing, 
and  going  to  another  loop  to  watch  the  movements  of  her 
friends,  laughing  still  heartier.  "See!  get  cover — every 
warrior.  Think  Saltwater  and  quartermaster  here.  Take 
good  care  now. ' ' 

"Heaven  be  praised!  And  now,  June,  I  may  hope  for 
a  little  time  to  compose  my  thoughts  to  prayer,  that  I 
may  not  die  like  Jennie,  thinking  only  of  life  and  the 
things  of  the  world." 

June  laid  aside  the  rifle,  and  came  and  seated  herself 
near  the  box  on  which  Mabel  had  sunk,  under  that  physi 
cal  reaction  which  accompanies  joy  as  well  as  sorrow.  She 
looked  steadily  in  our  heroine's  face,  and  the  latter  thought 
that  her  countenance  had  an  expression  of  severity  mingled 
with  its  concern. 

"Arrowhead  great  warrior,"  said  theTuscarora's  wife. 


350  THE  PATHFINDER 

"All  the  girls  of  tribe  look  at  him  much.  The  pale  face 
beauty  has  eyes,  too?" 

"June! — what  do  these  words — that  look — imply?  what 
would  you  say?" 

"Why  you  so  'fraid  June  shoot  Arrowhead?" 

"Would  it  not  have  been  horrible  to  see  a  wife  destroy 
her  own  husband?  No,  June,  rather  would  I  have  died 
myself. ' ' 

"Very  sure,  dat  all?" 

"That  was  all,  June,  as  God  is  my  judge!— and  surely 
that  was  enough.  No,  no!  there  have  been  sufficient 
horrors  to-day,  without  increasing  them  by  an  act  like 
this.  What  other  motive  can  you  suspect." 

"Don't  know.  Poor  Tuscarora  girl  very  foolish.  Ar 
rowhead  great  chief,  and  look  all  round  him.  Talk  of  pale 
face  beauty  in  his  sleep.  Great  chief  like  many  wives." 

"Can  a  chief  possess  more  than  one  wife,  June,  among 
your  people?" 

"Have  as  many  as  he  can  keep.  Great  hunter  marry 
often.  Arrowhead  got  only  June  now;  but  he  look  too 
much,  see  too  much,  talk  too  much  of  pale  face  girl." 

Mabel  was  conscious  of  this  fact,  which  had  distressed 
her  not  a  little,  in  the  course  of  their  journey;  but  it 
shocked  her  to  hear  this  allusion,  coming,  as  it  did,  from 
the  mouth  of  the  wife  herself.  She  knew  that  habit  and 
opinions  made  great  differences  in  such  matters;  but,  in 
addition  to  the  pain  and  mortification  she  experienced  at 
being  the  unwilling  rival  of  a  wife,  she  felt  an  appre 
hension  that  jealousy  would  be  but  an  equivocal  guaran 
tee  for  her  personal  safety  in  her  present  situation.  A 
closer  look  at  June,  however,  reassured  her;  for,  while 
it  was  easy  to  trace  in  the  unpractised  features  of  this 
unsophisticated  being  the  pain  of  blighted  affections,  no 
distrust  could  have  tortured  the  earnest  expression  of  her 
honest  countenance  into  that  of  treachery  or  hate. 

"You  will  not  betray  me,  June,"  Mabel  said,  pressing 
the  other's  hand,  and  yielding  to  an  impulse  of  generous 
confidence.  "You  will  not  give  up  one  of  your  own  sex 
to  the  tomahawk?" 

"No  tomahawk  touch  you.  Arrowhead  no  let  'em. 
If  June  must  have  sister-wife,  love  to  have  you." 


THE  PATHFINDER  351 

"No,  June;  my  religion,  my  feelings,  both  forbid  it; 
and,  if  I  could  be  the  wife  of  an  Indian  at  all,  I  would 
never  take  the  place  that  is  yours  in  a  wigwam." 

June  made  no  answer,  but  she  looked  gratified,  and 
even  grateful.  She  knew  that  few,  perhaps  no  Indian 
girl  within  the  circle  of  Arrowhead's  acquaintance,  could 
compare  with  herself  in  personal  attractions;  and,  though 
it  might  suit  her  husband  to  marry  a  dozen  wives,  she 
knew  of  no  one,  beside  Mabel,  whose  influence  she  could 
really  dread.  So  keen  an  interest,  however,  had  she  taken 
in  the  beauty,  winning  manners,  kindness,  and  feminine 
gentleness  of  our  heroine,  that  when  jealousy  came  to 
chill  these  feelings,  it  had  rather  lent  strength  to  that 
interest;  and,  under  its  wayward  influence,  had  actually 
been  one  of  the  strongest  of  the  incentives  that  had  in 
duced  her  to  risk  so  much  in  order  to  save  her  imaginary 
rival  from  the  consequences  of  the  attnck  that  she  so  well 
knew  was  about  to  take  place.  In  a  word,  June,  with  a 
wife's  keenness  of  perception,  had  detected  Arrowhead's 
admiration  of  Mabel;  and,  instead  of  feeling  that  harrow 
ing  jealousy  that  might  have  rendered  her  rival  hateful, 
as  would  have  been  apt  to  be  the  case  with  a  woman  un 
accustomed  to  defer  to  the  superior  rights  of  the  lordly 
sex,  she  had  studied  the  looks  and  character  of  the  pale 
face  beauty,  until,  meeting  with  nothing  to  repel  her 
own  feelings,  but  everything  to  encourage  them,  she  had 
got  to  entertain  an  admiration  and  love  for  her,  which, 
though  certainly  very  different,  was  scarcely  less  strong 
than  that  of  her  husband's.  Arrowhead  himself  had  sent 
her  to  warn  Mabel  of  the  coming  danger,  though  he  was 
ignorant  that  she  had  stolen  upon  the  island  in  the  rear 
of  the  assailants,  and  was  now  intrenched  in  the  citadel 
along  with  the  object  of  their  joint  care.  On  the  contrary, 
he  supposed,  as  his  wife  had  said,  that  Cap  and  Muir  were 
in  the  blockhouse  with  Mabel,  and  that  the  attempt  to 
repel  him  and  his  companions  had  been  made  by  the  men. 

"June  sorry  the  Lily" — for  so  the  Indian,  in  her  poeti 
cal  language,  had  named  our  heroine — "June  sorry  the 
Lily  no  marry  Arrowhead.  His  wigwam  big,  and  a  great 
chief  must  get  wives  enough  to  fill  it." 

"I  thank  you,  June,  for  this  preference,  which  is  not 


352  THE  PATHFINDER 

according  to  the  notion  of  us  white  women, "  returned 
Mabel,  smiling  in  spite  of  the  fearful  situation  in  which 
she  was  placed;  "but  I  may  not,  probably  never  shall, 
marry  at  all." 

"Must  have  good  husband,"  said  June;  "marry  Eau- 
douce,  if  don't  like  Arrowhead." 

"June!  this  is  not  a  fit  subject  for  a  girl  who  scarcely 
knows  if  she  is  to  live  another  hour  or  not.  I  would  ob 
tain  some  signs  of  my  dear  uncle's  being  alive  and  safe, 
if  possible." 

"June  go  see." 

"Can  you? — will  you? — would  it  be  safe  for  you  to  be 
seen  on  the  island?  is  your  presence  known  to  the  war 
riors,  and  would  they  be  pleased  to  find  a  woman  on  the 
warpath  with  them?" 

All  this  Mabel  asked  in  rapid  connection,  fearing  that 
the  answer  might  not  be  as  she  wished.  She  had  thought 
it  extraordinary  that  June  should  be  of  the  party,  and, 
improbable  as  it  seemed,  she  had  fancied  that  the  woman 
had  covertly  followed  the  Iroquois  in  her  own  canoe,  and 
had  got  in  their  advance,  merely  to  give  her  the  notice 
which  had  probably  saved  her  life.  But  in  all  this  she 
was  mistaken,  as  June,  in  her  imperfect  manner,  now 
found  means  to  let  her  know. 

Arrowhead,  though  a  chief,  was  in  disgrace  with  his 
own  people,  and  was  acting  with  the  Iroquois  temporar 
ily,  though  with  a  perfect  understanding.  He  had  a 
wigwam,  it  is  true,  but  was  seldom  in  it;  feigning  friend 
ship  for  the  English,  he  had  passed  the  summer  ostensibly 
in  their  service,  while  he  was,  in  truth,  acting  for  the 
French,  and  his  wife  journeyed  with  him  in  his  many  mi 
grations,  most  of  the  distances  being  passed  over  in 
canoes.  In  a  word,  her  presence  was  no  secret,  her  hus 
band  seldom  moving  without  her.  Enough  of  this  to 
embolden  Mabel  to  wish  that  her  friend  might  go  out,  to 
ascertain  the  fate  of  her  uncle,  did  June  succeed  in  let 
ting  the  other  know;  and  it  was  soon  settled  between 
them  that  the  Indian  woman  should  quit  the  blockhouse 
with  that  object  the  moment  a  favorable  opportunity 
offered. 

They  first  examined  the  island,  as  thoroughly  as  their 


THE  PATHFINDER  353 

position  would  allow,  from  the  different  loops,  and  found 
that  its  conquerors  were  preparing  for  a  feast,  having 
seized  upon  the  provisions  of  the  English  and  rifled  the 
huts.  Most  of  the  stores  were  in  the  blockhouse;  but 
enough  were  found  outside  to  reward  the  Indians  for  an 
attack  that  had  been  attended  by  so  little  risk.  A  party 
had  already  removed  the  dead  bodies,  and  Mabel  saw  that 
their  arms  were  collected  in  a  pile  near  the  spot  chosen 
for  the  banquet.  June  suggested  that,  by  some  signs 
which  she  understood,  the  dead  themselves  were  carried 
into  a  thicket  and  either  buried  or  concealed  from  view. 
None  of  the  more  prominent  objects  on  the  island,  how 
ever,  were  disturbed,  it  being  the  desire  of  the  conquerors 
to  lure  the  party  of  the  sergeant  into  an  ambush  on  its 
return.  June  made  her  companion  observe  a  man  in  a 
tree,  a  look-out,  as  she  said,  to  give  timely  notice  of  the 
approach  of  any  boat,  although,  the  departure  of  the  expe 
dition  being  so  recent,  nothing  but  some  unexpected  event 
would  be  likely  to  bring  it  back  so  soon.  There  did  not 
appear  to  be  any  intention  to  attack  the  blockhouse  im 
mediately;  but  every  indication,  as  understood  by  June, 
rather  showed  that  it  was  the  intention  of  the  Indians  to 
keep  it  besieged  until  the  return  of  the  sergeant's  party, 
lest  the  signs  of  an  assault  should  give  a  warning  to  eyes 
as  practised  as  those  of  Pathfinder.  The  boat,  however, 
had  been  secured,  and  was  removed  to  the  spot  where 
canoes  of  the  Indians  were  hid  in  the  bushes. 

June  now  announced  her  intention  to  join  her  friends, 
the  moment  being  particularly  favorable  for  her  to  quit 
the  blockhouse.  Mabel  felt  some  distrust  as  they  des 
cended  the  ladder;  but  at  the  next  instant  she  was 
ashamed  of  the  feeling,  as  unjust  to  her  companion  and 
unworthy  of  herself,  and  by  the  time  they  both  stood  on 
the  ground  her  confidence  was  restored.  The  process  of 
unbarring  the  door  was  conducted  with  the  utmost  cau 
tion,  and  when  the  last  bar  was  ready  to  be  turned  June 
took  her  station  near  the  spot  where  the  opening  must 
necessarily  be.  The  bar  was  just  turned  free  of  the 
brackets,  the  door  was  opened  merely  wide  enough  to 
allow  her  body  to  pass,  and  June  glided  through  the  space. 
Mabel  closed  the  door  again,  with  a  convulsive  movement; 
23 


354  THE  PATHFINDER 

and  as  the  bar  turned  into  its  place,  her  heart  beat  audi 
bly.  She  then  felt  secure;  and  the  two  other  bars  were 
turned  down  in  a  more  deliberate  manner.  When  all  was 
fast  again,  she  ascended  to  the  first  floor,  where  alone  she 
could  get  a  glimpse  of  what  was  going  on  without. 

Long  and  painfully  melancholy  hours  passed,  during 
which  Mabel  had  no  intelligence  from  June.  She  heard 
the  yells  of  the  savages,  for  liquor  had  carried  them  be 
yond  the  bounds  of  precaution;  occasionally  caught 
glimpses  of  their  mad  orgies  through  the  loops;  and  at 
all  times  was  conscious  of  their  fearful  presence  by 
sounds  and  sights  that  would  have  chilled  the  blood  of  one 
who  had  not  so  lately  witnessed  scenes  so  much  more  ter 
rible.  Toward  the  middle  of  the  day,  she  fancied  she  saw 
a  white  man  on  the  island  though  his  dress  and  wild  ap 
pearance  at  first  made  her  take  him  for  a  newly  arrived 
savage.  A  view  of  his  face,  although  it  was  swarthy 
naturally,  and  much  darkened  by  exposure,  left  no  doubt 
that  her  conjecture  was  true;  and  she  felt  as  if  there  was 
now  one  of  a  species  more  like  her  own  present,  and  one 
to  whom  she  might  appeal  for  succor  in  the  last  emer 
gency.  Mabel  little  knew,  alas!  how  small  was  the  in 
fluence  exercised  by  the  whites  over  their  savage  allies, 
when  the  latter  had  begun  to  taste  of  blood;  or  how 
slight,  indeed,  was  the  disposition  to  divert  them  from 
their  cruelties. 

The  day  seemed  a  month  by  Mabel's  computation,  and 
the  only  part  of  it  that  did  not  drag  were  the  minutes 
spent  in  prayer.  She  had  recourse  to  this  relief  from 
time  to  time;  and  at  each  effort  she  found  her  spirit 
firmer,  her  mind  more  tranquil,  and  her  resignation  more 
confirmed.  She  understood  the  reasoning  of  June,  and 
believed  it  highly  probable  that  the  blockhouse  would  be 
left  unmolested  until  the  return  of  her  father,  in  order  to 
entice  him  into  an  ambuscade,  and  she  felt  much  less  ap 
prehension  of  immediate  danger  in  consequence;  but  the 
future  offered  little  ground  of  hope,  and  her  thoughts 
had  already  begun  to  calculate  the  chances  of  her  captiv 
ity.  At  such  moments,  Arrowhead  and  his  offensive  ad 
miration  filled  a  prominent  place  in  the  background;  for 
our  heroine  well  knew  that  the  Indians  usually  carried  off 


THE  PATHFINDER  355 

to  their  villages,  for  the  purposes  of  adoption,  such  cap 
tives  as  they  did  not  slay;  and  that  many  instances  had 
occurred  in  which  individuals  of  her  sex  had  passed  the 
remainder  of  their  lives  in  the  wigwams  of  their  conquer 
ors.  Such  thoughts  as  these  invariably  drove  her  to  her 
knees  and  to  her  prayers. 

While  the  light  lasted  the  situation  of  our  heroine  was 
sufficiently  alarming;  but  as  the  shades  of  evening  grad 
ually  gathered  over  the  island,  it  became  fearfully  appal- 
ing.  By  this  time  the  savages  had  wrought  themselves 
up  to  the  point  of  fury,  for  they  had  possessed  themselves 
of  all  the  liquor  of  the  English;  and  their  outcries  and 
gesticulations  were  those  of  men  truly  possessed  by  evil 
spirits.  All  the  efforts  of  their  French  leader  to  restrain 
them  were  entirely  fruitless,  and  he  had  wisely  with 
drawn  to  an  adjacent  island,  where  he  had  a  sort  of 
bivouac,  that  he  might  keep  at  a  safe  distance  from  friends 
so  apt  to  run  into  excesses.  Before  quitting  the  spot, 
however,  this  officer,  at  great  risk  to  his  own  life,  had 
succeeded  in  extinguishing  the  fire,  and  in  securing  the 
ordinary  means  to  relight  it.  This  precaution  he  took 
lest  the  Indians  should  burn  the  blockhouse,  the  preserva 
tion  of  which  was  necessary  to  the  success  of  his  future 
plans.  He  would  gladly  have  removed  all  the  arms  also, 
but  this  he  found  impracticable,  the  warriors  clinging  to 
their  knives  and  tomahawks  with  the  tenacity  of  men  who 
regarded  a  point  of  honor  as  long  as  a  faculty  was  left; 
and  to  carry  off  the  rifles,  and  leave  behind  him  the  very 
weapons  that  were  generally  used  on  such  occasions,  would 
have  been  an  idle  expedient.  The  extinguishing  of  the 
fire  proved  to  be  the  most  prudent  measure ;  for  no  sooner 
was  the  officer's  back  turned  than  one  of  the  warriors  in 
fact  proposed  to  fire  the  blockhouse.  Arrowhead  had  also 
withdrawn  from  the  group  of  drunkards,  as  soon  as  he 
found  that  they  were  losing  their  senses,  and  had  taken 
possession  of  a  hut,  where  he  had  thrown  himself  on  the 
straw,  and  sought  the  rest  that  two  wakeful  and  watchful 
nights  had  rendered  necessary.  It  followed  that  no  one 
was  left  among  the  Indians  to  care  for  Mabel,  if,  indeed, 
any  knew  of  her  existence  at  all ;  and  the  proposal  of  the 
drunkard  was  received  with  yells  of  delight  by  eight  or 


356  THE  PATHFINDER 

ten  more  as  much  intoxicated  and  habitually  as  brutal  as 
himself. 

This  was  the  fearful  moment  for  Mabel.  The  Indians, 
in  their  present  condition,  were  reckless  of  any  rifles  that 
the  blockhouse  might  hold,  though  they  did  retain  dim 
recollections  of  its  containing  living  beings,  an  additional 
incentive  to  their  enterprise;  and  they  approached  its 
base  whooping  and  leaping  like  demons.  As  yet  they 
were  excited,  not  overcome  by  the  liquor  they  had  drunk. 
The  first  attempt  was  made  at  the  door,  against  which 
they  ran  in  a  body;  but  the  solid  structure,  which  was 
built  entirely  of  logs,  defied  their  efforts.  The  rush  of 
a  hundred  men  with  the  same  object  would  have  been 
useless.  This  Mabel,  however,  did  not  know;  and  her 
heart  seemed  to  leap  into  her  mouth  as  she  heard  the 
heavy  shock  at  each  renewed  effort.  At  length  when  she 
found  that  the  door  resisted  these  assaults  as  if  it  were  of 
stone,  neither  trembling  nor  yielding,  and  only  betraying 
its  not  being  a  part  of  the  wall  by  rattling  a  little  on  its 
heavy  hinges,  her  courage  revived,  and  she  seized  the 
first  moment  of  a  cessation  to  look  down  through  the  loop, 
in  order,  if  possible,  to  learn  the  extent  of  her  danger. 
A  silence,  for  which  it  was  not  easy  to  account,  stimu 
lated  her  curiosity;  for  nothing  is  so  alarming  to  those 
who  are  conscious  of  the  presence  of  imminent  danger, 
as  to  be  unable  to  trace  its  approach. 

Mabel  found  that  two  or  three  of  the  Iroquois  had  been 
raking  the  embers,  where  they  had  found  a  few  small 
coals,  and  with  these  they  were  endeavoring  to  light  a 
fire.  The  interest  with  which  they  labored,  the  hope  of 
destroying,  and  the  force  of  habit,  enabled  them  to  act 
intelligently  and  in  unison,  so  long  as  their  fell  object 
was  kept  in  view.  A  white  man  would  have  abandoned 
the  attempt  to  light  a  fire  in  despair,  with  coals  that  came 
out  of  the  ashes  resembling  sparks;  but  these  children  of 
the  forest  had  many  expedients  that  were  unknown' to 
civilization.  By  the  aid  of  a  few  dry  leaves,  which  they 
alone  knew  where  to  seek,  a  blaze  was  finally  kindled,  and 
then  the  addition  of  a  few  light  sticks  made  sure  of  the 
advantage  that  had  been  obtained.  When  Mabel  stooped 
down  over  the  loop,  the  Indians  were  making  a  pile  of 


THE  PATHFINDER  357 

brush  against  the  door,  and  as  she  remained  gazing  at 
their  proceedings,  she  saw  the  twigs  ignite,  the  flame 
dart  from  branch  to  branch,  until  the  whole  pile  was 
cracking  and  snapping  under  a  bright  blaze.  The  Indians 
now  gave  a  yell  of  triumph,  and  returned  to  their  com 
panions,  well  assured  that  the  work  of  destruction  was 
commenced.  Mabel  remained  looking  down,  scarcely  able 
to  tear  herself  away  from  the  spot,  so  intense  and  en 
grossing  was  the  interest  she  felt  in  the  progress  of  the 
fire.  As  the  pile  kindled  throughout,  however,  the  flames 
mounted,  until  they  flashed  so  near  her  eyes  as  to  compel 
her  to  retreat.  Just  as  she  reached  the  opposite  side  of 
the  room,  to  which  she  had  retired  in  her  alarm,  a  forked 
stream  shot  up  through  the  loophole,  the  lid  of  which  she 
had  left  open,  and  illuminated  the  rude  apartment,  with 
Mabel  and  her  desolation.  Our  heroine  now  naturally 
enough  supposed  that  her  hour  was  come;  for  the  door, 
the  only  means  of  retreat,  had  been  blocked  up  by  the 
brush  and  fire,  with  hellish  ingenuity,  and  she  addressed 
herself,  as  she  believed,  for  the  last  time  to  her  Maker 
in  prayer.  Her  eyes  were  closed,  and  for  more  than  a 
minute  her  spirit  was  abstracted;  but  the  interests  of  the 
world  too  strongly  divided  her  feelings  to  be  altogether 
suppressed;  and  when  they  involuntarily  opened  again, 
she  perceived  that  the  streak  of  flame  was  no  longer  flar 
ing  in  the  room,  though  the  wood  around  the  little  aper 
ture  had  kindled,  and  the  blaze  was  slowly  mounting  under 
the  impulsion  of  a  current  of  air  that  sucked  inward.  A 
barrel  of  water  stood  in  a  corner;  and  Mabel,  acting  more 
by  instinct  than  by  reason,  caught  up  a  vessel,  filled  it, 
and,  pouring  it  on  the  wood  with  a  trembling  hand,  suc 
ceeded  in  extinguishing  the  fire  at  that  particular  spot. 
The  smoke  prevented  her  from  looking  down  again  for  a 
aouple  of  minutes;  but  when  she  did  her  heart  beat  high 
with  delight  and  hope  at  finding  that  the  pile  of  blazing 
brush  had  been  overturned  and  scattered,  and  that  water 
had  been  thrown  on  the  logs  of  the  door,  which  were  still 
smoking  though  no  longer  burning. 

"Who  is  there?"  said  Mabel,  with  her  mouth  at  the 
loop.  "What  friendly  hand  has  a  merciful  Providence 
sent  to  my  succor?" 


358  THE  PATHFINDER 

A  light  footstep  was  audible  below,  and  one  of  those 
gentle  pushes  at  the  door  was  heard,  which  just  moved 
the  massive  beams  on  the  hinges. 

"Who  wishes  to  enter?    Is  it  you,  dear,  dear  uncle?' 

"Saltwater  no  here.  St.  Lawrence  sweet  water, "  was 
the  answer.  "Open  quick;  want  to  come  in. " 

The  step  of  Mabel  was  never  lighter,  or  her  movements 
more  quick  and  natural,  than  while  she  was  descending 
the  ladder  and  turning  the  bars,  for  all  her  motions  were 
earnest  and  active.  This  time  she  thought  only  of  her 
escape,  and  she  opened  the  door  with  a  rapidity  which 
did  not  admit  of  caution.  Her  first  impulse  was  to  rush 
into  the  open  air,  in  the  blind  hope  of  quitting  the  block 
house;  but  June  repulsed  the  attempt,  and  entering,  she 
coolly  barred  the  door  again  before  she  would  notice 
Mabel's  eager  efforts  to  embrace  her. 

"Bless  you!  bless  you,  June!"  cried  our  heroine  most 
fervently;  "you  are  sent  by  Providence  to  be  my  guardian 
angel!" 

"No  hug  so  tight,"  answered  the  Tuscarora  woman. 
"Pale  face  woman  all  cry,  or  all  laugh.  Let  June  fasten 
door. ' ' 

Mabel  became  more  rational,  and  in  a  few  minutes  the 
two  were  again  in  the  upper  room,  seated  as  before,  hand 
in  hand,  all  feeling  of  distrust  between  them  being  ban 
ished. 

"Now  tell  me,  June,"  Mabel  commenced  as  soon  as  she 
had  given  and  received  one  warm  embrace,  "have  you 
seen  or  heard  aught  of  my  poor  uncle?" 

"Don't  know.  No  one  see  him;  no  one  hear  him;  no 
one  know  anyt'ing.  Saltwater  run  into  river,  I  t'ink, 
for  I  no  find  him.  Quartermaster  gone,  too.  I  look, 
and  look,  and  look;  but  no  see  'em,  one,  t'other,  no 
where.  ' ' 

"Blessed  be  God!  They  must  have  escaped,  though  the 
means  are  not  known  to  us.  I  thought  I  saw  a  French 
man  on  the  island,  June." 

'  'Yes ;  French  captain  come,  but  he  go  away,  too.  Plenty 
of  Indian  on  island. ' ' 

"Oh,  June,  June,  are  there  no  means  to  prevent  my  be 
loved  father  from  falling  into  the  hands  of  his  enemies?" 


THE  PATHFINDER  359 

"Don't  know;  t'ink  dat  warriors  wait  in  ambush,  and 
Yengeese  must  lose  scalp." 

"Surely,  surely,  June,  you,  who  have  done  so  much  for 
the  daughter,  will  not  refuse  to  help  the  father?" 

"Don't  know  fader,  don't  love  fader.  June  help  her 
own  people,  help  Arrowhead — husband  love  scalp. ' ' 

"June,  this  is  not  yourself.  I  cannot,  will  not  believe 
that  you  wish  to  see  our  men  murdered!" 

June  turned  her  dark  eyes  quietly  on  Mabel ;  and  for  a 
moment  her  look  was  stern,  though  it  was  soon  changed 
into  one  of  melancholy  compassion. 

"Lily,  Yengeese  girl?"  she  said,  as  one  asks  a  question. 

"Certainly,  and  as  a  Yengeese  girl  I  would  save  my 
countrymen  from  slaughter." 

"Very good,  if  can.  June  no  Yengeese;  June Tuscarora 
— got  Tuscarora  husband — Tuscarora  heart — Tuscarora 
feeling — all  over  Tuscarora.  Lily  wouldn't  run  and  tell 
French  that  her  fader  was  coming  to  gain  victory?" 

"Perhaps  not,"  returned  Mabel,  pressing  a  hand  on  a 
brain  that  felt  bewildered — "perhaps  not;  but  you  serve 
me,  aid  me— have  saved  me,  June!  Why  have  you  done 
this,  if  you  only  feel  as  a  Tuscarora?" 

"Don't  only  feel  as  Tuscarora;  feel  as  girl,  feel  as 
squaw.  Love  pretty  Lily,  and  put  it  in  my  bosom." 

Mabel  melted  into  tears,  and  she  pressed  the  affectionate 
creature  to  her  heart.  It  was  near  a  minute  before  she 
could  renew  the  discourse,  but  then  she  succeeded  in 
speaking  more  calmly  and  with  greater  coherence. 

"Let  me  know  the  worse,  June,"  said  she.  "To-night 
your  people  are  feasting;  what  do  they  intend  to  do  to 
morrow?" 

"Don't  know;  afraid  to  see  Arrowhead,  afraid  to  ask 
question;  t'ink  hide  away  till  Yengeese  come  back." 

"Will  they  not  attempt  anything  against  the  block 
house?  You  have  seen  what  they  can  threaten  if  they 
will." 

"Too  much  rum.  Arrowhead  sleep,  or  no  dare;  French 
captain  gone  away,  or  no  dare.  All  go  to  sleep  now." 

"And  you  think  I  am  safe  for  this  night,  at  least?" 

"Too  much  rum.  If  Lily  like  June,  might  do  much  for 
her  people." 


360  THE  PATHFINDER 

"I  am  like  you,  June,  if  a  wish  to  serve  my  countrymen 
can  make  a  resemblance  with  one  as  courageous  as  your 
self." 

"No,  no,  no!"  muttered  June  in  a  low  voice;  "no  got 
heart,  and  June  no  let  you,  if  had.  June's  moder  prisoner 
once,  and  warriors  got  drunk;  moder  tomahawked  'em 
all.  Such  de  way  red-skin  women  do  when  people  in 
danger  and  want  scalp." 

"You  say  what  is  true,"  returned  Mabel,  shuddering, 
and  unconsciously  dropping  June's  hand.  "I  cannot  do 
that.  I  have  neither  the  strength,  the  courage,  nor  the 
will  to  dip  my  hands  in  blood." 

"T'ink  that,  too;  then  stay  where  you  be — blockhouse 
good — got  no  scalp. ' ' 

"You  believe,  then,  that  I  am  safe  here,  at  least  until 
my  father  and  his  people  return?" 

"Know  so.  No  dare  touch  blockhouse  in  morning. 
Hark!  all  still  now — drink  rum  till  head  fall  down,  and 
sleep  like  log." 

"Might  I  not  escape?  Are  there  not  several  canoes  on 
the  island?  Might  I  not  get  one,  and  go  and  give  my 
father  notice  of  what  has  happened?" 

"Know  how  to  paddle?"  demanded  June,  glancing  her 
eye  furtively  at  her  companion. 

"Not  so  well  as  yourself,  perhaps;  but  enough  to  get 
out  of  sight  before  morning. ' ' 

"What  do  then? — -couldn't  paddle  six — ten — eight 
mile!" 

"I  do  not  know;  I  would  do  much  to  warn  my  father, 
and  the  excellent  Pathfinder,  and  all  the  rest,  of  the 
danger  they  are  in." 

"Like  Pathfinder?" 

"All  like  him  who  know  him — you  would  like  him, 
nay,  love  him,  if  you  only  knew  his  heart!" 

"No  like  him  at  all.  Too  good  rifle — too  good  eye — 
too  much  shoot  Iroquois  and  June's  people.  Must  get  his 
scalp  if  can." 

"And  I  must  save  it  if  I  can,  June.  In  this  respect, 
then,  we  are  opposed  to  each  other.  I  will  go  and  find  a 
canoe  the  instant  they  are  all  asleep,  and  quit  the  island." 

"No  can — June  won't  let  you.     Call  Arrowhead." 


THE  PATHFINDER  361 

"June!  you  would  not  betray  me — you  could  not  give 
me  up  after  all  you  have  done  for  me?" 

"Just  so,"  returned  June,  making  a  backward  gesture 
with  her  hand,  and  speaking  with  a  warmth  and  earnest 
ness  Mabel  had  never  witnessed  in  her  before.  "Call 
Arrowhead  in  loud  voice.  One  call  from  wife  wake  a 
warrior  up.  June  no  let  Lily  help  enemy — no  let  Indian 
hurt  Lily." 

"I  understand  you,  June,  and  feel  the  nature  and  jus 
tice  of  your  sentiments;  and,  after  all,  it  were  better 
that  I  should  remain  here,  for  I  have  most  probably  over 
rated  my  strength.  But  tell  me  one  thing:  if  my  uncle 
comes  in  the  night,  and  asks  to  be  admitted,  you  will  let 
me  open  the  door  of  the  blockhouse  that  he  may  enter?" 

"Sartain — he  prisoner  here,  and  June  like  prisoner  bet 
ter  than  scalp;  scalp  good  for  honor,  prisoner  good  for 
feeling.  But  Saltwater  hide  so  close,  he  don't  know 
where  he  be  himself. ' ' 

Here  June  laughed  in  her  girlish,  mirthful  way,  for  to 
her  scenes  of  violence  were  too  familiar  to  leave  impres 
sions  sufficiently  deep  to  change  her  natural  character. 
A  long  and  discursive  dialogue  now  followed,  in  which 
Mabel  endeavored  to  obtain  clearer  notions  of  her  actual 
situation,  under  a  faint  hope  that  she  might  possibly  be 
enabled  to  turn  some  of  the  facts  she  thus  learned  to  ad 
vantage.  June  answered  all  her  interrogatories  simply, 
but  with  a  caution  which  showed  she  fully  distinguished 
between  that  which  was  immaterial  and  that  which  might 
endanger  the  safety  or  embarrass  the  future  operations  of 
her  friends.  The  substance  of  the  information  she  gave 
may  be  summed  up  as  follows: 

Arrowhead  had  long  been  in  communication  with  the 
French,  though  this  was  the  first  occasion  on  which  he 
had  entirely  thrown  aside  the  mask.  He  no  longer  in 
tended  to  trust  himself  among  the  English,  for  he  had 
discovered  traces  of  distrust,  particularly  in  Pathfinder; 
and,  with  Indian  bravado,  he  now  rather  wished  to  blazon 
than  to  conceal  his  treachery.  He  had  led  the  party  of 
warriors  in  the  attack  on  the  island,  subject,  however,  to 
the  supervision  of  the  Frenchman  who  has  bean  men 
tioned,  though  June  declined  saying  whether  he  had  been 


362  THE  PATHFINDER 

the  means  of  discovering  the  position  of  a  place  which 
had  been  thought  to  be  so  concealed  from  the  enemy  or 
not.  On  this  point  she  would  say  nothing;  but  she  ad 
mitted  that  she  and  her  husband  had  been  watching  the 
departure  of  the  Scud  at  the  time  they  were  overtaken  and 
captured  by  the  cutter.  The  French  had  obtained  their 
information  of  the  precise  position  of  the  station  but  very 
recently;  and  Mabel  felt  a  pang  when  she  thought  that 
there  were  covert  allusions  of  the  Indian  woman  which 
would  convey  the  meaning  that  the  intelligence  had  come 
from  a  pale  face  in  the  employment  of  Duncan  of  Lundie. 
This  was  intimated,  however,  rather  than  said;  and  when 
Mabel  had  time  to  reflect  on  her  companion's  words,  she 
found  room  to  hope  that  she  had  misunderstood  her,  and 
that  Jasper  Western  would  yet  come  out  of  the  affair 
freed  from  every  injurious  imputation. 

June  did  not  hesitate  to  confess  that  she  had  been  sent 
to  the  island  to  ascertain  the  precise  number  and  the  oc 
cupations  of  those  who  had  been  left  on  it,  though  she 
also  betrayed  in  her  naive  way  that  the  wish  to  serve 
Mabel  had  induced  her  principally  to  consent  to  come. 
In  consequence  of  her  report,  and  information  otherwise 
obtained,  the  enemy  was  aware  of  precisely  the  force 
that  could  be  brought  against  them.  They  also  knew  the 
number  of  men  who  had  gone  with  Sergeant  Dunham,  and 
were  acquainted  with  the  object  he  had  in  view,  though 
they  were  ignorant  of  the  spot  where  he  expected  to  meet 
the  French  boats.  It  would  have  been  a  pleasant  sight 
to  witness  the  eager  desire  of  each  of  these  two  sincere 
females  to  ascertain  all  that  might  be  of  consequence  to 
their  respective  friends;  and  yet  the  native  delicacy  with 
which  each  refrained  from  pressing  the  other  to  make 
revelations  which  would  have  been  improper,  as  well  as 
the  sensitive,  almost  intuitive,  feeling  with  which  each 
avoided  saying  aught  that  might  prove  injurious  to  her 
own  nation.  As  respects  each  other,  there  was  perfect 
confidence;  as  regarded  their  respective  people,  entire 
fidelity.  June  was  quite  as  anxious  as  Mabel  could  be 
on  any  other  point  to  know  where  the  sergeant  had  gone 
and  when  he  was  expected  to  return;  but  she  abstained 
from  putting  the  question,  with  a  delicacy  that  would 


THE  PATHFINDER  363 

have  done  honor  to  the  highest  civilization;  nor  did  she 
once  frame  any  other  inquiry  in  a  way  to  lead  indirectly 
to  a  betrayal  of  the  much-desired  information  on  that 
particular  point;  though  when  Mabel  of  her  own  accord 
touched  on  any  matter  that  might  by  possibility  throw  a 
light  on  the  subject,  she  listened  with  an  intentness  which 
almost  suspended  respiration. 

In  this  manner  the  hours  passed  away  unheeded,  for 
both  were  too  much  interested  to  think  of  rest.  Nature 
asserted  her  rights,  however,  to  wards  morning;  and  Mabel 
was  persuaded  to  lie  down  on  one  of  the  straw  beds  pro 
vided  for  the  soldiers,  where  she  soon  fell  into  a  deep 
sleep.  June  lay  near  her,  and  a  quiet  reigned  on  the 
whole  island  as  profound  as  if  the  dominion  of  the  forest 
had  hever  been  invaded  by  man. 

When  Mabel  awoke,  the  light  of  the  sun  was  streaming 
in  through  the  loopholes,  and  she  found  that  the  day  was 
considerably  advanced.  June  still  lay  near  her,  sleeping 
as  tranquilly  as  if  she  reposed  on — we  will  not  say 
"down,"  for  the  superior  civilization  of  our  own  times 
repudiates  the  simile — but  on  a  French  mattress,  and  as 
profoundly  as  if  she  had  never  experienced  concern.  The 
movements  of  Mabel,  notwithstanding,  soon  awakened  one 
so  accustomed  to  vigilance;  and  then  the  two  took  a  sur 
vey  of  what  was  passing  around  them  by  means  of  the 
friendly  apertures. 


CHAPTER    XXIII 

"What  had  the  Eternal!  Maker  need  of  thee, 
The  world  in  his  continuall  course  to  keepe, 
That  doest  all  things  deface  ?  ne  lettest  see 
The  beautie  of  his  worke  ?   Indeede  in  sleepe, 
The  slouthf  ull  body  that  dost  love  to  steepe 
His  lustlesse  limbs,  and  drowne  his  baser  mind, 
Doth  praise  thee  oft,  and  oft  from  Stygian  deepe, 
Calles  thee  his  goddesse,  in  his  error  blind, 
And  great  dame  Nature's  hand-maide,  chearing  every  kind." 

—FAERIE  QUEENE. 

THE  tranquillity  of  the  previous  night  was  not  contra 
dicted  by  the  movements  of  the  day.  Although  Mabel 
and  June  went  to  every  loophole,  not  a  sign  of  the  pres 
ence  of  a  living  being  on  the  island  was  at  first  to  be 
seen,  themselves  excepted.  There  was  a  smothered  fire 
on  the  spot  where  M'Nab  and  his  comrades  had  cooked,  as 
if  the  smoke  which  curled  upwards  from  it  was  intended 
as  a  lure  to  the  absent;  and  all  around  the  huts  had  been 
restored  to  former  order  and  arrangement.  Mabel  started 
involuntarily  when  her  eye  at  length  fell  on  a  group  of 
three  men,  dressed  in  the  scarlet  of  the  55th,  seated  on 
the  grass  in  lounging  attitudes,  as  if  they  chatted  in  list 
less  security;  and  her  blood  curdled  as,  on  a  second  look, 
she  traced  the  bloodless  faces  and  glassy  eyes  of  the  dead. 
They  were  very  near  the  blockhouse,  so  near  indeed  as  to 
have  been  overlooked  at  the  first  eager  inquiry,  and  there 
was  a  mocking  levity  in  their  postures  and  gestures,  for 
their  limbs  were  stiffening  in  different  attitudes,  in 
tended  to  resemble  life,  at  which  the  soul  revolted.  Still, 
horrible  as  these  objects  were  to  those  near  enough  to 
discover  the  frightful  discrepancy  between  their  assumed 
and  their  real  characters,  the  arrangement  had  been  made 
with  so  much  art  that  it  would  have  deceived  a  negligent 
observer  at  the  distance  of  a  hundred  yards.  After  care 
fully  examining  the  shores  of  the  island,  June  pointed 
out  to  her  companion  the  fourth  soldier,  seated,  with  his 
feet  hanging  over  the  water,  his  back  fastened  to  a  sap- 

864 


THE  PATHFINDER  365 

ling,  and  holding  a  fishing-rod  in  his  hand.  The  scalp- 
less  heads  were  covered  with  the  caps,  and  all  appearance 
of  blood  had  been  carefully  washed  from  each  countenance. 

Mabel  sickened  at  this  sight,  which  not  only  did  so 
much  violence  to  all  her  notions  of  propriety,  but  which 
was  in  itself  so  revolting  and  so  opposed  to  natural  feel 
ing.  She  withdrew  to  a  seat,  and  hid  her  face  in  her 
apron  for  several  minutes,  until  a  low  call  from  June 
again  drew  her  to  a  loophole.  The  latter  then  pointed 
out  the  body  of  Jennie,  seemingly  standing  in  the  door  of 
a  hut,  leaning  forward  as  if  to  look  at  the  group  of  men, 
her  cap  fluttering  in  the  wind,  and  her  hand  grasping  a 
broom.  The  distance  was  too  great  to  distinguish  the 
features  very  accurately;  but  Mabel  fancied  that  the  jaw 
had  been  depressed,  as  if  to  distort  the  mouth  into  a  sort 
of  horrible  laugh. 

"June!  June!"  she  exclaimed;  "this  exceeds  all  I  have 
ever  heard,  or  imagined  as  possible,  in  the  treachery  and 
artifices  of  your  people. ' ' 

"Tuscarora  very  cunning,"  said  June,  in  away  to  show 
that  she  rather  approved  of  than  condemned  the  uses  to 
which  the  dead  bodies  had  been  applied.  "Do  soldier  no 
harm  now;  do  Iroquois  good;  got  the  scalp  first;  now 
make  bodies  wrork.  By  and  by,  burn  'em." 

This  speech  told  Mabel  how  far  she  was  separated  from 
her  friend  in  character;  and  it  was  several  minutes  be 
fore  she  could  again  address  her.  But  this  temporary 
aversion  was  lost  on  June,  who  set  about  preparing  their 
simple  breakfast,  in  a  way  to  show  how  insensible  she  was 
to  feelings  in  others  which  her  own  habits  taught  her  to 
discard.  Mabel  ate  sparingly,  and  her  companion  as  if 
nothing  had  happened.  Then  they  had  leisure  again  for 
their  thoughts,  and  for  further  surveys  of  the  island. 
Our  heroine,  though  devoured  with  a  feverish  desire  to 
be  always  at  the  loops,  seldom  went  that  she  did  not  im 
mediately  quit  them  in  disgust,  though  compelled  by  her 
apprehensions  to  return  again  in  a  few  minutes,  called  by 
the  rustling  of  leaves,  or  the  sighing  of  the  wind.  It 
was,  indeed,  a  solemn  thing  to  look  out  upon  that  de 
serted  spot,  peopled  by  the  dead  in  the  panoply  of  the 
living,  and  thrown  into  the  attitudes  an'l  acts  of  careless 


366  THE  PATHFINDER 

merriment  and  rude  enjoyment.  The  effect  on  our  hero 
ine  was  much  as  if  she  had  found  herself  an  observer  of 
the  revelries  of  demons. 

Throughout  the  livelong  day  not  an  Indian  nor  a  French 
man  was  to  be  seen,  and  night  closed  over  the  frightful 
but  silent  masquerade,  with  the  steady  and  unalterable 
progress  with  which  the  earth  obeys  her  laws,  indifferent 
to  the  petty  actors  and  petty  scenes  that  are  in  daily 
bustle  and  daily  occurrence  on  her  bosom.  The  night  was 
far  more  quiet  than  that  which  had  preceded  it,  and 
Mabel  slept  with  an  increasing  confidence;  for  she  now  felt 
satisfied  that  her  own  fate  would  not  be  decided  until  the 
return  of  her  father.  The  following  day  he  was  expected, 
however,  and  when  our  heroine  awoke,  she  ran  eagerly  to 
the  loops  in  order  to  ascartain  the  state  of  the  weather 
and  the  aspect  of  the  skies,  as  well  as  the  condition  of  the 
island.  There  lounged  the  fearful  group  on  the  grass;  the 
fisherman  still  hung  over  the  water,  seemingly  intent  on 
his  sport;  and  the  distorted  countenance  of  Jennie  glared 
from  out  the  hut  in  horrible  contortions.*  But  the  weather 
had  changed;  the  w7ind  blew  fresh  from  the  southward, 
and  though  the  air  was  bland,  it  was  filled  W7ith  the  ele 
ments  of  storm. 

"This  grows  more  and  more  difficult  to  bear,  June," 
Mabel  said,  wrhen  she  left  the  window7.  "I  could  even 
prefer  to  see  the  enemy  than  to  look  any  longer  on  this 
fearful  array  of  the  dead." 

"Hush!  here  they  come.  June  thought  hear  a  cry  like 
a  warrior's  shout  wrhen  he  take  a  scalp." 

"What  mean  you?  There  is  no  more  butchery! — there 
can  be  no  more." 

"Saltwater!"  exclaimed  June,  laughing,  as  she  stood 
peeping  through  a  loophole. 

"My  dear  uncle!  Thank  God!  he  then  lives!  Oh, 
June,  June,  you  will  not  let  them  harm  him,  ?  ' ' 

"June,  poor  squaw.  What  warrior  t'ink  of  what  she 
say?  Arrowhead  bring  him  here." 

By  this  time  Mabel  was  at  a  loop;  and,  sure  enough, 
there  were  Cap  and  the  quartermaster  in  the  hands  of  the 
Indians,  eight  or  ten  of  whom  were  conducting  them  to 
the  foot  of  the  block,  for,  by  this  capture,  the  enemy  now 


THE  PATHFINDER  367 

well  knew  that  there  could  be  no  man  in  the  building. 
Mabel  scarcely  breathed  until  the  whole  party  stood 
ranged  directly  before  the  door,  when  she  was  rejoiced  to 
see  that  the  French  officer  was  among  them.  A  low  con 
versation  followed,  in  which  both  the  white  leader  and 
Arrowhead  spoke  earnestly  to  their  captives,  when  the 
quartermaster  called  out  to  her  in  a  voice  loud  enough  to 
be  heard. 

"Pretty  Mabel!  pretty  Mabel!"  said  he;  "look  out  of 
one  of  the  loopholes,  and  pity  our  condition.  We  are 
threatened  with  instant  death  unless  you  open  the  door  to 
the  conquerors.  Relent,  then,  or  we'll  no'  be  wearing 
our  scalps  half  an  hour  from  this  blessed  moment." 

Mabel  thought  there  were  mockery  and  levity  in  this 
appeal,  and  its  manner  rather  fortified  than  weakened  her 
resolution  to  hold  the  place  as  long  as  possible. 

"Speak  to  me,  uncle,"  said  she,  with  her  mouth  at  a 
loop,  "and  tell  what  I  ought  to  do." 

"Thank  God!  thank  God!"  ejaculated  Cap;  "the  sound 
of  your  sweet  voice,  Magnet,  lightens  my  heart  of  a  heavy 
load,  for  I  feared  you  had  shared  the  fate  of  poor  Jennie. 
My  breast  has  felt  the  last  four-and-twenty  hours  as  if  a 
ton  of  kentledge  had  been  stowed  in  it.  You  ask  me  what 
you  ought  to  do,  child,  and  I  do  not  know  how  to  advise 
you,  though  you  are  my  own  sister's  daughter!  The  most 
I  can  say  just  now,  my  poor  girl,  is  most  heartily  to  curse 
the  day  you  or  I  ever  saw  this  bit  of  fresh  water." 

"But,  uncle,  is  your  life  in  danger — do  you  think  I 
ought  to  open  the  door?" 

"A  round  turn  and  two  half-hitches  make  a  fast  belay; 
and  I  would  counsel  no  one  who  is  out  of  the  hands  of 
these  devils  to  unbar  or  unfasten  anything  in  order  to  fall 
into  them.  As  to  the  quartermaster  and  myself,  we  are 
both  elderly  men,  and  not  of  much  account  to  mankind  in 
general,  as  honest  Pathfinder  would  say;  and  it  can  make 
no  great  odds  to  him  whether  he  balances  the  purser's 
books  this  year  or  the  next;  and  as  for  myself,  why,  if  I 
were  on  the  seaboard,  I  should  know  what  to  do,  but  up 
here,  in  this  watery7  wilderness,  I  can  only  say,  that  if  I 
were  behind  that  bit  of  a  bulwark,  it  would  take  a  good 
deal  of  Indian  logic  to  rouse  me  out  of  it." 


368  THE  PATHFINDER 

"You'll  no'  be  minding  all  your  uncle  says,  pretty 
Mabel,"  put  in  Muir,  "for  distress  is  obviously  fast  un 
settling  his  faculties,  and  he  is  far  from  calculating  all 
the  necessities  of  the  emergency.  We  are  in  the  hands 
hereof  very  considerate  and  gentlemanly  pairsons,  it  must 
be  acknowledged,  and  one  has  little  occasion  to  apprehend 
disagreeable  violence.  The  casualties  that  have  occurred 
are  the  common  incidents  of  war,  and  can  no'  change  our 
sentiments  of  the  enemy,  for  they  are  far  from  indicating 
that  any  injustice  will  be  done  the  prisoners.  I'm  sure 
that  neither  Master  Cap  nor  myself  has  any  cause  of  com 
plaint  since  we  have  given  ourselves  up  to  Master  Arrow 
head,  who  reminds  me  of  a  Roman  or  a  Spartan  by  his 
virtues  and  moderation;  but  ye'll  be  remembering  that 
usages  differ,  and  that  our  scalps  maybe  lawful  sacrifices 
to  appease  the  manes  of  fallen  foes,  unless  you  save  them 
by  capitulation." 

"I  shall  do  wiser  to  keep  within  the  blockhouse  until 
the  fate  of  the  island  is  settled,"  returned  Mabel.  "Our 
enemies  can  feel  no  concern  on  account  of  one  like 
me,  knowing  that  I  can  do  them  no  harm,  and  I  greatly 
prefer  to  remain  here  as  more  befitting  my  sex  and 
years. ' ' 

"If  nothing  but  your  convenience  were  concerned, 
Mabel,  we  should  all  cheerfully  acquiesce  in  your  wishes, 
but  these  gentlemen  fancy  that  the  work  will  aid  their 
operations,  and  they  have  a  strong  desire  to  possess  it. 
To  be  frank  with  you,  finding  myself  and  your  uncle  in 
a  very  peculiar  situation,  I  acknowledge  that,  to  avert 
consequences,  I  have  assumed  the  power  that  belongs  to 
his  Majesty's  commission,  and  entered  into  a  verbal  capit 
ulation,  by  which  I  have  engaged  to  give  up  the  block 
house  and  the  whole  island.  It  is  the  fortune  of  war,  and 
must  be  submitted  to;  so  open  the  door,  pretty  Mabel, 
forthwith,  and  confide  yourself  to  the  care  of  those  who 
know  how  to  treat  beauty  and  virtue  in  distress.  There's 
no  courtier  in  Scotland  more  complaisant  than  this  chief, 
or  who  is  more  familiar  with  the  laws  of  decorum." 

"No  leave  blockhouse,"  muttered  June,  who  stood  at 
Mabel's  side,  attentive  to  all  that  passed.  "Blockhouse 
good — got  no  scalp. ' ' 


THE  PATHFINDER  369 

Our  heroine  might  have  yielded  but  for  this  appeal; 
for  it  began  to  appear  to  her  that  the  wisest  course  would 
be  to  conciliate  the  enemy  by  concessions  instead  of  ex 
asperating  them  by  resistance.  They  must  know  that 
Muir  and  her  uncle  were  in  their  power;  that  there  was 
no  man  in  the  building,  and  she  fancied  they  might  pro 
ceed  to  batter  down  the  door,  or  cut  their  way  through 
the  logs  with  axes,  if  she  obstinately  refused  to  give  them 
peaceable  admission,  since  there  was  no  longer  any  reason 
to  dread  the  rifle.  But  the  words  of  June  induced  her  to 
hesitate,  and  the  earnest  pressure  of  the  hand  and  en 
treating  looks  of  her  companion  strengthened  a  resolution 
that  was  faltering. 

"No  prisoner  yet,"  whispered  June;  "let  'em  make 
prisoner  before  'ey  take  prisoner — talk  big;  June  manage 
'em." 

Mabel  now  began  to  parley  more  resolutely  with  Muir, 
for  her  uncle  seemed  disposed  to  quiet  his  conscience  by 
holding  his  tongue,  and  she  plainly  intimated  that  it  was 
not  her  intention  to  yield  the  building. 

"You  forget  the  capitulation,  Mistress  Mabel,"  said 
Muir;  "the  honor  of  one  of  his  Majesty's  servants  is  con 
cerned,  and  the  honor  of  his  Majesty  through  his  servant. 
You  will  remember  the  finesse  and  delicacy  that  belong 
to  military  honor?" 

"I  know  enough,  Mr.  Muir,  to  understand  that  you 
have  no  command  in  this  expedition,  and  therefore  can 
have  no  right  to  yield  the  blockhouse;  and  I  remember, 
moreover,  to  have  heard  my  dear  father  say  that  a  pris 
oner  loses  all  his  authority  for  the  time  being." 

"Rank  sophistry,  pretty  Mabel,  and  treason  to  the 
king,  as  well  as  dishonoring  his  commission  and  dis 
crediting  his  name.  You'll  no'  be  persevering  in  your 
intentions,  when  your  better  judgment  has  had  leisure  to 
reflect  and  to  make  conclusions  on  matters  and  circum 
stances.  ' ' 

"Ay,"  put  in  Cap,  "this  is  a  circumstance,  and  be 
d dtoit!" 

"No   mind  what'e  uncle  say,"   ejaculated  June,  who 
was  occupied  in  a  far  corner  of  the  room.     "Blockhouse 
good — got  no  scalp. ' ' 
24 


370  THE  PATHFINDER 

"I  shall  remain  as  I  am,  Mr.  Muir,  until  I  get  some 
tidings  of  my  father.  He  will  return  in  the  course  of  the 
next  ten  days. ' ' 

"Ah,  Mabel,  this  artifice  will  no'  deceive  the  enemy, 
who,  by  means  that  would  be  unintelligible,  did  not  our 
suspicions  rest  on  an  unhappy  young  man  with  too  much 
plausibility,  are  familiar  with  all  our  doings  and  plans, 
and  well  know  that  the  sun  will  not  set  before  the  worthy 
sergeant  and  his  companions  will  be  in  their  power. 
Aweel!  Submission  to  Providence  is  truly  a  Christian 
virtue!" 

"Mr.  Muir,  you  appear  to  be  deceived  in  the  strength 
of  this  work,  and  to  fancy  it  weaker  than  it  is.  Do  you 
desire  to  see  what  I  can  do  in  the  way  of  defense,  if  so 
disposed?" 

"I  dinna  mind  if  I  do,"  answered  the  quartermaster, 
who  always  grew  Scotch  as  he  grew  interested. 

"What  do  you  think  of  that,  then?  Look  at  the  loop 
of  the  upper  story?" 

As  soon  as  Mabel  had  spoken,  all  eyes  were  turned  up 
ward,  and  beheld  the  muzzle  of  a  rifle  cautiously  thrust 
through  a  hole,  June  having  resorted  again  to  a  ruse 
which  had  already  proved  so  successful.  The  result  did 
not  disappoint  expectation.  No  sooner  did  the  Indians 
catch  a  sight  of  the  fatal  weapon  than  they  leaped  aside, 
and  in  less  than  a  minute  every  man  among  them  had 
sought  a  cover.  The  French  officer  kept  his  eye  on  the 
barrel  of  the  piece  in  order  to  ascertain  that  it  was  not 
pointed  in  his  particular  direction,  and  he  coolly  took  a 
pinch  of  snuff.  As  neither  Muir  nor  Cap  had  anything 
to  apprehend  from  the  quarter  in  which  the  others  were 
menaced,  they  kept  their  ground. 

"Be  wise,  my  pretty  Mabel,  be  wise!"  exclaimed  the 
former;  "and  no'  be  provoking  useless  contention.  In 
the  name  of  all  the  kings  of  Albion,  who  have  ye  closeted 
with  you  in  that  wooden  tower  that  seemeth  so  bloody- 
minded?  There  is  necromancy  about  this  matter,  and  ail 
our  characters  may  be  involved  in  the  explanation." 

"What  do  you  think  of  the  Pathfinder,  Master  Muir, 
for  a  garrison  to  so  strong  a  post?"  cried  Mabel,  resort 
ing  to  an  equivocation  which  the  circumstances  rendered 


THE  PATHFINDER  371 

very  excusable.  "What  will  your  French  and  Indian  com 
panions  think  of  the  aim  of  the  Pathfinder's  rifle?" 

"Bear  gently  on  the  unfortunate,  pretty  Mabel,  and  do 
not  confound  the  king's  servants — may  Heaven  bless  him 
and  all  his  royal  lineage! — with  the  king's  enemies.  If 
Pathfinder  be  indeed  in  the  blockhouse,  let  him  speak, 
and  we  will  hold  our  negotiations  directly  with  him.  He 
knows  us  as  friends,  and  we  fear  no  evil  at  his  hands, 
and  least  of  all  to  myself;  for  a  generous  mind  is  apt  to 
render  rivalry  in  a  certain  interest  a  sure  ground  of  re 
spect  and  amity,  since  admiration  of  the  same  woman 
proves  a  community  of  feeling  and  tastes." 

The  reliance  on  Pathfinder's  friendship  did  not  extend 
beyond  the  quartermaster  and  Cap,  however,  for  even  the 
French  officer,  who  had  hitherto  stood  his  ground  so  well, 
shrank  back  at  the  sound  of  the  terrible  name.  So  un 
willing,  indeed,  did  this  individual,  a  man  of  iron  nerves, 
and  one  long  accustomed  to  the  dangers  of  the  peculiar 
warfare  in  which  he  was  engaged,  appear  to  remain  ex 
posed  to  the  assaults  of  Killdeer,  whose  reputation  through 
out  all  that  frontier  was  as  well  established  as  that  of 
Marlborough  in  Europe,  that  he  did  not  disdain  to  seek  a 
cover,  insisting  that  his  two  prisoners  should  follow  him. 
Mabel  was  too  glad  to  be  rid  of  her  enemies  to  lament 
the  departure  of  her  friends,  though  she  kissed  her  hand 
to  Cap  through  the  loop,  and  called  out  to  him  in  terms 
of  affection  as  he  moved  slowly  and  unwillingly  away. 

The  enemy  now  seemed  disposed  to  abandon  all  attempts 
on  the  blockhouse  for  the  present;  and  June,  who  had 
ascended  to  a  trap  in  the  roof,  whence  the  best  view  was 
to  be  obtained,  reported  that  the  whole  party  had  assem 
bled  to  eat,  on  a  distant  and  sheltered  part  of  the  island, 
where  Muir  and  Cap  were  quietly  sharing  in  the  good 
things  which  were  going,  as  if  they  had  no  concern  on 
their  minds.  This  information  greatly  relieved  Mabel, 
and  she  began  to  turn  her  thoughts  again  to  the  means  of 
effecting  her  own  escape,  cr  at  least  of  letting  her  father 
know  of  the  danger  that  awaited  him.  The  sergeant  was 
expected  to  return  that  afternoon,  and  she  knew  that  a 
moment  gained  or  lost  might  decide  his  fate. 

Three  or  four  hours  flew  by.     The  island  was  again 


372  THE  PATHFINDER 

buried  in  a  profound  quiet,  the  day  was  wearing  away,, 
and  yet  Mabel  had  decided  on  nothing.  June  was  in  the 
basement,  preparing  their  frugal  meal,  and  Mabel  herself 
had  ascended  to  the  roof,  which  was  provided  with  a  trap 
that  allowed  her  to  go  out  on  the  top  of  the  building, 
whence  she  commanded  the  best  view  of  surrounding  ob 
jects  that  the  island  possessed;  still  it  was  limited,  and 
much  obstructed  by  the  tops  of  trees.  The  anxious  girl 
did  not  dare  to  trust  her  person  in  sight,  knowing  well 
that  the  unrestrained  passions  of  some  savage  might  in 
duce  him  to  send  a  bullet  through  her  brain.  She  merely 
kept  her  head  out  of  the  trap,  therefore,  v/hence,  in  the 
course  of  the  afternoon,  she  made  as  many  surveys  of  the 
different  channels  about  the  island  as  "Anne,  sister 
Anne,"  took  of  the  environs  of  the  castle  of  Blue  Beard. 

The  sun  had  actually  set;  no  intelligence  had  been  re 
ceived  from  the  boats,  and  Mabel  ascended  to  the  roof  to 
take  a  last  look,  hoping  that  the  party  would  arrive  in 
the  darkness;  which  would  at  least  prevent  the  Indians 
from  rendering  their  ambuscade  so  fatal  as  it  might 
otherwise  prove,  and  which  possibly  might  enable  her  to 
give  some  more  intelligible  signal,  by  means  of  fire,  than 
it  would  otherwise  be  in  her  power  to  do.  Her  eye  had 
turned  carefully  round  the  whole  horizon,  and  she  was 
just  on  the  point  of  drawing  in  her  person,  when  an  ob 
ject  that  struck  her  as  new  caught  her  attention.  The 
islands  lay  grouped  so  closely,  that  six  or  eight  different 
channels  or  passages  between  them  were  in  view;  and  in 
one  of  the  most  covered,  concealed  in  a  great  measure  by 
the  bushes  of  the  shore,  lay  what  a  second  look  assured 
her  was  a  bark  canoe.  It  contained  a  human  being  be 
yond  a  question.  Confident  that  if  an  enemy  her  signal 
could  do  no  harm,  and,  if  a  friend,  that  it  might  do  good, 
the  eager  girl  waved  a  little  flag  towards  the  stranger, 
which  she  had  prepared  for  her  father,  taking  care  that 
it  should  not  be  seen  from  the  island. 

Mabel  had  repeated  her  signal  eight  or  ten  times  in 
vain,  and  she  began  to  despair  of  its  being  noticed,  when 
a  sign  was  given  in  return  by  the  wave  of  a  paddle,  and 
the  man  so  far  discovered  himself  as  to  let  her  see  it  was 
Chingachgook.  Here,  then,  at  last,  was  a  friend;  oxe, 


THE  PATHFINDER  373 

too,  who  was  able,  and  she  doubted  not  would  be  willing 
to  aid  her.  From  that  instant  her  courage  and  her  spirits 
revived.  The  Mohican  had  seen  her;  must  have  recog 
nized  her,  as  he  knew  that  she  was  of  the  party;  and  no 
doubt,  as  soon  as  it  was  sufficiently  dark,  he  would  take 
the  steps  necessary  to  release  her.  That  he  was  aware  of 
the  presence  of  the  enemy  was  apparent  by  the  great 
caution  he  observed,  and  she  had  every  reliance  on  his 
prudence  and  address.  The  principal  difficulty  now  ex 
isted  with  June;  for  Mabel  had  seen  too  much  of  her 
fidelity  to  her  own  people,  relieved  as  it  was  by  sympathy 
for  herself,  to  believe  she  would  consent  to  a  hostile  In 
dian's  entering  the  blockhouse,  or  indeed  to  her  leaving 
it,  with  a  view  to  defeat  Arrowhead's  plans,  The  half 
hour  which  succeeded  the  discovery  of  the  presence  of  the 
Great  Serpent  was  the  most  painful  of  Mabel  Dunham's 
life.  She  saw  the  means  of  effecting  all  she  wished,  as  it 
might  be  within  reach  of  her  hand,  and  yet  it  eluded  her 
grasp.  She  knew  June's  decision  and  coolness,  notwith 
standing  all  her  gentleness  and  womanly  feeling;  and  at 
last  she  came  reluctantly  to  the  conclusion  that  there  was 
no  other  way  of  attaining  her  end  than  by  deceiving  her 
tried  companion  and  protector.  It  was  revolting  to  one 
so  sincere  and  natural,  so  pure  of  heart,  and  so  much  dis 
posed  to  ingenuousness  as  Mabel  Dunham,  to  practise 
deception  on  a  friend  like  June;  but  her  own  father's 
life  was  at  stake,  her  companion  would  receive  no  positive 
injury,  and  she  had  feelings  and  interests  directly  touch 
ing  herself  which  would  have  removed  greater  scruples. 

As  soon  as  it  was  dark,  Mabel's  heart  began  to  beat 
with  increased  violence;  and  she  adopted  and  changed  her 
plan  of  proceeding  at  least  a  dozen  times  in  a  single 
hour.  June  was  always  the  source  of  her  greatest  em 
barrassment;  for  she  did  not  well  see,  first,  how  she  was 
to  ascertain  when  Chingachgook  was  at  the  door,  where 
she  doubted  not  he  v/ould  soon  appear;  and,  secondly,  how 
she  was  to  admit  him,  without  giving  the  alarm  to  her 
Y/atchfui  companion.  Time  pressed,  however;  for  the 
Mohican  might  come  and  go  away  again,  unless  shs  was 
ready  to  receive  him.  It  would  be  too  hazardous  to  the 
Delaware  to  remain  long  on  the  island;  and  it  became 


374  THE  PATHFINDER 

absolutely  necessary  to  determine  on  some  course,  even  at 
the  risk  of  choosing  one  that  was  indiscreet.  After  run 
ning  over  various  projects  in  her  mind,  therefore,  Mabel 
came  to  her  companion,  and  said,  with  as  much  calmness 
as  she  could  assume: 

"Are  you  not  afraid,  June,  now  your  people  believe 
Pathfinder  is  in  the  blockhouse,  that  they  will  come  and 
try  to  set  it  on  fire?" 

"No  t'ink  such  t'ing.  No  burn  blockhouse.  Block 
house  good ;  got  no  scalp. ' ' 

"June,  we  cannot  know.  They  hid  because  they  be 
lieved  what  I  told  them  of  Pathfinder's  being  with  us." 

"Believe  fear.  Fear  come  quick,  go  quick.  Fear  make 
run  away;  wit  make  come  back.  Fear  make  warrior 
fool,  as  well  as  young  girl." 

Here  June  laughed,  as  her  sex  is  apt  to  laugh  when 
anything  particularly  ludicrous  crosses  their  youthful 
fancies. 

"I  feel  uneasy,  June;  and  wish  you  yourself  would  go 
up  again  to  the  roof  and  look  out  upon  the  island,  to  make 
certain  that  nothing  is  plotting  against  us;  you  know  the 
signs  of  what  your  people  intend  to  do  better  than  I." 

"June  go,  Lily  wish;  but  very  well  know  that  Indian 
sleep;  wait  for  'e  fader.  Warrior  eat,  drink,  sleep,  all 
time,  when  don't  fight  and  go  on  war-trail.  Den  never 
sleep,  eat,  drink — never  feel.  Warrior  sleep  now." 

"God  send  it  may  be  so!  But  go  up,  dear  June,  and 
look  well  about  you.  Danger  may  come  when  we  least 
expect  it." 

June  arose,  and  prepared  to  ascend  to  the  roof ;  but  she 
paused,  with  her  foot  on  the  first  round  of  the  ladder. 
Mabel's  heart  beat  so  violently  that  she  was  fearful  its 
throbs  would  be  heard ;  and  she  fancied  that  some  gleam- 
ings  of  her  real  intentions  had  crossed  the  mind  of  her 
friend.  She  was  right  in  part,  the  Indian  woman  having 
actually  stopped  to  consider  whether  there  was  any  indis 
cretion  in  what  she  was  about  to  do.  At  first  the  suspicion 
that  Mabel  intended  to  escape  flashed  across  her  mind; 
then  she  rejected  it,  on  the  ground  that  the  pale  face  had 
no  means  of  getting  off  the  island,  and  that  the  block 
house  was  much  the  most  secure  place  she  could  find.  The 


THE  PATHFINDER  375 

next  thought  was,  that  Mabel  had  detected  some  sign  of 
the  near  approach  of  her  father.  This  idea,  too,  lasted  but 
an  instant;  for  June  entertained  some  such  opinion  of  her 
companion's  ability  to  understand  symptoms  of  this  sort 
— symptoms  that  had  escaped  her  own  sagacity— as  a 
woman  of  high  fashion  entertains  of  the  accomplishments 
of  her  maid.  Nothing  else  in  the  same  way  offering,  she 
began  slowly  to  mount  the  ladder. 

Just  as  she  reached  the  upper  floor,  a  lucky  thought 
suggested  itself  to  our  heroine;  and,  by  expressing  it  in 
a  hurried  but  natural  manner,  she  gained  a  great  advan 
tage  in  executing  her  projected  scheme. 

"I  will  go  down,"  she  said,  "and  listen  by  the  door, 
June,  while  you  are  on  the  roof;  and  we  will  thus  be  on 
our  guard,  at  the  same  time,  above  and  below." 

Though  June  thought  this  savored  of  unnecessary  cau 
tion,  well  knowing  that  no  one  could  enter  the  building 
unless  aided  from  within,  nor  any  serious  danger  menace 
them  from  the  exterior  without  giving  sufficient  warning, 
she  attributed  the  proposition  to  Mabel's  ignorance  and 
alarm;  and,  as  it  was  apparently  with  frankness,  it  was 
received  without  distrust.  By  these  means  our  heroine 
was  enabled  to  descend  to  the  door,  as  her  friend  ascended 
to  the  roof.  The  distance  between  the  two  was  now  too 
great  to  admit  of  conversation;  and  for  three  or  four 
minutes  one  was  occupied  in  looking  about  her  as  well  as 
the  darkness  would  allow,  and  the  other  in  listening  at 
the  door  with  as  much  intentness  as  if  all  her  senses  were 
absorbed  in  the  single  faculty  of  hearing. 

June  discovered  nothing  from  her  elevated  stand ;  the 
obscurity  indeed  almost  forbade  the  hope  of  such  a  result; 
but  it  would  not  be  easy  to  describe  the  sensation  with 
which  Mabel  thought  she  perceived  a  slight  and  guarded 
push  against  the  door.  Fearful  that  all  might  not  be  as 
she  wished,  and  anxious  to  let  Chingachgook  know  that 
she  was  near,  she  began,  though  in  tremulous  and  low 
notes,  to  sing.  So  profound  was  the  stillness  of  the  mo 
ment  that  the  sound  of  the  unsteady  warbling  ascended 
to  the  roof,  and  in  a  minute  June  began  to  descend.  A 
slight  tap  at  the  door  was  heard  immediately  after.  Mabel 
was  bewildered,  for  there  was  no  time  to  lose.  Hope 


376  THE  PATHFINDER 

proved  stronger  than  fear;  and  with  unsteady  hands  she 
commenced  unbarring  the  door.  The  moccasin  of  June 
was  heard  on  the  floor  above  her  when  only  a  single  bar 
was  turned.  The  second  was  released  as  her  form  reached 
half-way  down  the  lower  ladder. 

"What  you  do?"  exclaimed  June  angrily.  "Run  away 
—mad — leave  blockhouse;  blockhouse  good."  The  hands 
of  both  were  on  the  last  bar,  and  it  would  have  been 
cleared  from  the  fastenings  but  for  a  vigorous  shove  from 
without,  which  jammed  the  wood.  A  short  struggle  en 
sued,  though  both  were  disinclined  to  violence.  June 
would  probably  have  prevailed,  had  not  another  and  a 
more  vigorous  push  from  without  forced  the  bar  past  the 
trifling  impediment  that  held  it,  when  the  door  opened. 
The  form  of  a  man  was  seen  to  enter ;  and  both  the  females 
rushed  up  the  ladder,  as  if  equally  afraid  of  the  conse 
quences.  The  stranger  secured  the  door;  and,  first  exam 
ining  the  lower  room  with  great  care,  he  cautiously 
ascended  the  ladder.  June,  as  soon  as  it  became  dark, 
had  closed  the  loops  of  the  principal  floor,  and  lighted  a 
candle.  By  means  of  this  dim  taper,  then,  the  two  fe 
males  stood  in  expectation,  waiting  to  ascertain  the  per 
son  of  their  visitor,  whose  wary  ascent  of  the  ladder  was 
distinctly  audible,  though  sufficiently  deliberate.  It  would 
not  be  easy  to  say  which  was  the  more  astonished  on  find 
ing,  when  the  stranger  had  got  through  the  trap,  that 
Pathfinder  stood  before  them. 

"God  be  praised!"  Mabel  exclaimed,  for  the  idea  that 
the  blockhouse  would  be  impregnable  with  such  a  garrison 
at  once  crossed  her  mind.  "Oh  Pathfinder!  what  has  be 
come  of  my  father?" 

"The  sergeant  is  safe  as  yet,  and  victorious;  though  it 
is  not  in  the  gift  of  man  to  say  what  will  be  the  ind  of 
it.  Is  not  that  the  wife  of  Arrowhead  skulking  in  the 
corner  there?" 

"Speak  not  of  her  reproachfully,  Pathfinder;  I  owe  her 
my  life,  my  present  security.  Tell  me  what  has  happened 
to  my  father's  party — why  you  are  here;  and  I  will  relate 
all  the  horrible  events  that  have  passed  upon  this  island." 

"Few  words  will  do  the  last,  Mabel;  for  one  used  to 
Indian  deviltries  needs  but  little  explanations  on  such  a 


THE  PATHFINDER  377 

subject.  Everything  turned  out  as  we  had  hoped  with  the 
expedition;  for  the  Sarpent  was  on  the  lookout,  and  he 
met  us  with  all  the  information  heart  could  desire.  We 
ambushed  three  boats,  druv'  the  Frenchers  out  of  them, 
got  possession  and  sunk  them,  according  to  orders,  in  the 
deepest  part  of  the  channel ;  and  the  savages  of  Upper 
Canada  will  fare  badly  for  Indian  goods  this  winter. 
Both  powder  and  ball,  too,  will  be  scarcer  among  them 
than  keen  hunters  and  active  warriors  may  relish.  We 
did  not  lose  a  man  or  have  even  a  skin  barked;  nor  do  I 
think  the  inimy  suffered  to  speak  of.  In  short,  Mabel,  it 
has  been  just  such  an  expedition  as  Lundie  likes;  much 
harm  to  the  foe,  and  little  harm  to  ourselves." 

"Ah,  Pathfinder,  I  fear,  when  Major  Duncan  comes  to 
hear  the  whole  of  the  sad  tale,  he  will  find  reason  to 
regret  he  ever  undertook  the  affair." 

"I  know  what  you  mean,  I  know  what  you  mean;  but 
by  telling  my  story  straight  you  will  understand  it  better. 
As  soon  as  the  sergeant  found  himself  successful,  he  sent 
me  and  the  Sarpent  off  in  canoes  to  tell  you  how  matters 
had  turned  out,  and  he  is  following  with  the  two  boats, 
which,  being  so  much  heavier,  cannot  arrive  before  morn 
ing.  I  parted  from  Chingachgook  this  forenoon,  it  being 
agreed  that  he  should  come  up  one  set  of  channels,  and  I 
another,  to  see  that  the  path  was  clear.  I've  not  seen  the 
chief  since." 

Mabel  now  explained  the  manner  in  which  she  had  dis 
covered  the  Mohican,  and  her  expectation  that  he  would 
yet  come  to  the  blockhouse. 

"Not  he,  not  he!  A  regular  scout  will  never  get  be 
hind  walls  or  logs  so  long  as  he  can  keep  the  open  air  and 
find  useful  employment.  I  should  not  have  come  myself, 
Mabel,  but  I  promised  the  sergeant  to  comfort  you  and  to 
look  after  your  safety.  Ah's  me!  I  reconnoitered  the 
island  with  a  heavy  heart  this  forenoon;  and  there  was  a 
bitter  hour  when  I  fancied  you  might  be  among  the  slain." 

"By  what  lucky  accident  were  you  prevented  from 
paddling  up  boldly  to  the  island  and  from  falling  into  the 
kands  of  the  enemy?" 

"By  such  an  accident,  Mabel,  as  Providence  employs  to 
tell  the  hound  where  to  find  the  deer  and  the  deer  how  to 


378  THE  PATHFINDER 

throw  off  the  hound.  No,  no!  these  artifices  and  devil 
tries  with  dead  bodies  may  deceive  the  soldiers  of  the  55th 
and  the  king's  officers;  but  they  are  all  lost  upon  men 
who  have  passed  their  days  in  the  forest.  I  came  down 
the  channel  in  face  of  the  pretended  fisherman;  and,  though 
the  riptyles  have  set  up  the  poor  wretch  with  art,  it  was 
not  ingenious  enough  to  take  in  a  practysed  eye.  The  rod 
was  held  too  high,  for  the  55th  have  learned  to  fish  at 
Oswego,  if  they  never  knew  how  before;  and  then  the  man 
was  too  quiet  for  one  who  got  neither  prey  nor  bite.  But 
we  never  come  in  upon  a  post  blindly;  and  I  have  lain 
outside  a  garrison  a  whole  night,  because  they  had  changed 
their  sentries  and  their  mode  of  standing  guard.  Neither 
the  Sarpent  nor  myself  would  be  likely  to  be  taken  in  by 
these  clumsy  contrivances,  which  were  most  probably  in 
tended  for  the  Scotch,  who  are  cunning  enough  in  some 
particulars,  though  anything  but  witches  when  Indian 
sarcumventions  are  in  the  wind." 

"Do  you  think  my  father  and  his  men  may  yet  be  de 
ceived?"  said  Mabel  quickly. 

"Not  if  I  can  prevent  it,  Mabel.  You  say  the  Sarpent 
is  on  the  lookout,  too;  so  there  is  a  double  chance  of  our 
succeeding  in  letting  him  know  his  danger;  though  it  is  by 
no  means  sartain  by  which  channel  the  party  may  come." 

"Pathfinder,"  said  our  heroine  solemnly,  for  the  fright 
ful  scenes  she  had  witnessed  had  clothed  death  with  un 
usual  horrors— "Pathfinder,  you  have  professed  love  for 
me,  a  wish  to  make  me  your  wife?" 

"I  did  ventur'  to  speak  on  that  subject,  Mabel,  and  the 
sergeant  has  even  lately  said  that  you  are  kindly  disposed; 
but  I  am  not  a  man  to  persecute  the  thing  I  love." 

"Hear  me,  Pathfinder,  I  respect  you,  honor  you,  revere 
you;  save  my  father  from  this  dreadful  death,  and  I  can 
worship  you.  Here  is  my  hand,  as  a  solemn  pledge  for 
my  faith,  when  you  come  to  claim  it." 

"Bless  you,  bless  you,  Mabel;  this  is  more  than  I  de- 
sarve — more,  I  fear,  than  I  shall  know  how  to  profit  by  as 
I  ought.  It  was  not  wanting,  however,  to  make  me  sarve 
the  sergeant.  We  are  old  comrades,  and  owe  each  other 
a  life;  though  I  fear  me,  Mabel,  being  a  father's  comrade 
is  not  always  the  best  recommendation  with  a  daughter. " 


THE  PATHFINDER  379 

"You  want  no  other  recommendation  than  your  own 
acts — your  couarge,  your  fidelity.  All  that  you  do  and 
say,  Pathfinder,  my  reason  approves,  and  the  heart  will, 
nay,  it  shall  follow." 

"This  is  a  happiness  I  little  expected  this  night;  but 
we  are  in  God's  hands,  and  He  will  protect  us  in  His  own 
way.  These  are  sweet  words,  Mabel ;  but  they  were  not 
wanting  to  make  me  do  all  that  man  can  do  in  the 
present  circumstances;  they  will  not  lessen  my  endeavors, 
neither." 

"Now  we  understand  each  other,  Pathfinder,"  Mabel 
added  hoarsely,  "let  us  not  lose  one  of  the  precious  mo 
ments,  which  may  be  of  incalculable  value.  Can  we  not 
get  into  your  canoe  and  go  and  meet  my  father?" 

"That  is  not  the  course  I  advise.  I  don't  know  by 
which  channel  the  sergeant  will  come,  and  there  are 
twenty;  rely  on  it,  the  Sarpent  will  be  winding  his  way 
through  them  all.  No,  no!  my  advice  is  to  remain  here. 
The  logs  of  this  blockhouse  are  still  green,  and  it  will 
not  be  easy  to  set  them  on  fire;  and  I  can  make  good  the 
place,  bating  a  burning,  ag'in  a  tribe.  The  Iroquois 
nation  cannot  dislodge  me  from  this  fortress,  so  long  as 
we  can  keep  the  flames  off  it.  The  sergeant  is  now  camped 
on  some  island,  and  will  not  come  in  until  morning.  If 
we  hold  the  block,  we  can  give  him  timely  warning,  by 
firing  rifles,  for  instance;  and  should  he  determine  to  at 
tack  the  savages,  as  a  man  of  his  temper  will  be  very 
likely  to  do,  the  possession  of  this  building  will  be  of 
great  account  in  the  affair.  No,  no!  my  judgment  says 
remain,  if  the  object  be  to  sarve  the  sergeant,  though 
escape  for  our  two  selves  will  be  no  very  difficult  matter. ' ' 

"Stay,"  murmured  Mabel,  "stay,  for  God's  sake,  Path 
finder!  Anything,  everything  to  save  my  father!" 

"Yes,  that  is  natur'.  I  am  glad  to  hear  you  say  this, 
Mabel,  for  I  own  a  wish  to  see  the  sergeant  fairly  sup 
ported.  As  the  matter  now  stands,  he  has  gained  him 
self  credit;  and,  could  he  once  drive  off  these  miscreants, 
and  make  an  honorable  retreat,  laying  the  huts  and  block 
in  ashes,  no  doubt,  Lundie  would  remember  it  and  sarve 
him  accordingly.  Yes,  yes,  Mabel,  we  must  not  only  save 
the  sergeant's  life,  but  we  must  save  his  reputation." 


380  THE  PATHFINDER 

"No  blame  can  rest  on  my  father  on  account  of  the 
surprise  of  this  island." 

"There's  no  telling,  there's  no  telling;  military  glory 
is  a  most  unsartain  thing.  I've  seen  the  Delawares 
routed,  when  they  desarved  more  credit  than  at  other 
times  when  they've  carried  the  day.  A  man  is  wrong  to 
set  his  head  on  success  of  any  sort,  and  worst  of  all  on 
success  inwrar.  I  know  little  of  the  settlements,  or  of  the 
notions  that  men  hold  in  them;  but  up  hereaway  even  the 
Indians  rate  a  warrior's  character  according  to  his  luck. 
The  principal  thing  with  a  soldier  is  never  to  be  whipped; 
nor  do  I  think  mankind  stops  long  to  consider  how  the  day 
was  won  or  lost.  For  my  part,  Mabel,  I  make  it  a  rule 
when  facing  the  inimy  to  give  him  as  good  as  I  can  send, 
and  to  try  to  be  moderate  as  I  can  when  we  get  the  bet 
ter.  As  for  feeling  moderate  after  a  defeat,  little  need 
be  said  on  that  score,  as  a  flogging  is  one  of  the  most 
humbling  things  in  natur'.  The  parsons  preach  about 
humility  in  the  garrison;  but  if  humility  would  make 
Christians,  the  king's  troops  ought  to  be  saints,  for 
they've  done  little  as  yet  this  war  but  take  lessons  from 
the  French,  beginning  at  Fort  du  Quesne  and  ending  at 
Ty." 

"My  father  could  not  have  suspected  that  the  position 
of  the  island  was  known  to  the  enemy,"  resumed  Mabel, 
whose  thoughts  were  running  on  the  probable  effect  of 
the  recent  events  on  the  sergeant. 

"That  is  true;  nor  do  I  well  see  how  the  Frenchers 
found  it  out.  The  spot  is  well  chosen,  and  it  is  not  an 
easy  matter,  even  for  one  who  has  traveled  the  road  to 
and  from  it,  to  find  it  again.  There  has  been  treachery, 
I  fear ;  yes,  yes,  there  must  have  been  treachery. ' ' 

"Oh  Pathfinder!  can  this  be?" 

"Nothing  is  easier,  Mabel,  for  treachery  comes  as 
nat'ral  to  some  men  as  eating.  Now  when  I  find  a  man 
all  fair  words  I  look  close  to  his  deeds;  for  when  the 
heart  is  right,  and  really  intends  to  do  good,  it  is  generally 
satisfied  to  let  the  conduct  speak  instead  of  the  tongue." 

"Jasper  Western  is  not  one  of  these,"  said  Mabel  im 
petuously.  "No  youth  can  be  more  sincere  in  his  manner, 
or  less  apt  to  make  the  tongue  act  for  the  head. ' ' 


THE  PATHFINDER  381 

"Jasper  Western!  tongue  and  heart  are  both  right  with 
that  lad,  depend  on  it,  Mabel;  and  the  notion  taken  up 
by  Lundie,  and  the  quartermaster,  and  the  sergeant,  and 
your  uncle,  too,  is  as  wrong  as  it  would  be  to  think  that 
the  sun  shone  by  night  and  the  stars  shone  by  day.  No, 
no;  I'll  answer  for  Eau-douce's  honesty  with  my  own 
scalp,  or,  at  need,  with  my  own  rifle." 

"Bless  you,  bless  you,  Pathfinder!"  exclaimed  Mabel, 
extending  her  own  hand  and  pressing  the  iron  fingers  of 
her  companion,  under  a  state  of  feeling  that  far  surpassed 
her  own  consciousness  of  its  strength.  "You  are  all  that 
is  generous,  all  that  is  noble!  God  will  reward  you 
for  it." 

"Ah,  Mabel,  I  fear  me,  if  this  be  true,  I  should  not 
covet  such  a  wife  as  yourself;  but  would  leave  you  to  be 
sued  for  by  some  gentleman  of  the  garrison,  as  your 
desarts  require." 

"We  will  not  talk  of  this  any  more  to-night,"  Mabel 
answered  in  a  voice  so  smothered  as  to  seem  nearly  choked. 
"We  must  think  less  of  ourselves  just  now,  Pathfinder, 
and  more  of  our  friends.  But  I  rejoice  from  my  soul  that 
you  believe  Jasper  innocent.  Now  let  us  talk  of  other 
things — ought  we  not  to  release  June?" 

"I've  been  thinking  about  the  woman;  for  it  will  not 
be  safe  to  shut  our  eyes  and  leave  hers  open,  on  this 
side  of  the  blockhouse  door.  If  we  put  her  in  the  upper 
room,  and  take  away  the  ladder,  she'll  be  a  prisoner  at 
least." 

"I  cannot  treat  one  thus  who  has  saved  my  life.  It 
would  be  better  to  let  her  depart,  for  I  think  she  is  too 
much  my  friend  to  do  anything  to  harm  me." 

"You  do  not  know  the  race,  Mabel;  you  do  not  know 
the  race.  It's  true  she's  not  a  full-blooded  Mingo,  but 
she  consorts  with  the  vagabonds,  and  must  have  larned 
some  of  their  tricks.  What  is  that?" 

"It  sounds  like  oars;  some  boat  is  passing  through  the 
channel." 

Pathfinder  closed  the  trap  that  led  to  the  lower  room, 
to  prevent  June  from  escaping,  extinguished  the  candle, 
and  went  hastily  to  a  loop,  Mabel  looking  over  his  shoulder 
in  breathless  curiosity.  These  several  movements  con- 


382  THE  PATHFINDER 

sumed  a  minute  or  two;  and  by  the  time  the  eye  of  the 
scout  had  got  a  dim  view  of  things  without,  two  boats 
had  swept  past  and  shot  up  to  the  shore,  at  a  spot  some 
fifty  yards  beyond  the  block,  where  there  was  a  regular 
landing.  The  obscurity  prevented  more  from  being  seen; 
and  Pathfinder  whispered  to  Mabel  that  the  newcomers 
were  as  likely  to  be  foes  as  friends,  for  he  did  not  think 
her  father  could  possibly  have  arrived  so  soon.  A  number 
of  men  were  now  seen  to  quit  the  boats,  and  then  followed 
three  hearty  English  cheers,  leaving  no  further  doubts  of 
the  character  of  the  party.  Pathfinder  sprang  to  the  trap, 
raised  it,  glided  down  the  ladder,  and  began  to  unbar  the 
door,  with  an  earnestness  that  proved  how  critical  he 
deemed  the  moment.  Mabel  had  followed,  but  she  rather 
impeded  than  aided  his  exertions,  and  but  a  single  bar 
was  turned  when  a  heavy  discharge  of  rifles  was  heard. 
They  were  still  standing  in  breathless  suspense,  as  the 
war-whoop  rang  in  all  the  surrounding  thickets.  The 
door  now  opened,  and  both  Pathfinder  and  Mabel  rushed 
into  the  open  air.  All  human  sounds  had  ceased.  After 
listening  half  a  minute,  however,  Pathfinder  thought  he 
heard  a  few  stifled  groans  near  the  boats;  but  the  wind 
blew  so  fresh,  and  the  rustling  of  the  leaves  mingled  so 
much  with  the  murmurs  of  the  passing  air,  that  he  was 
far  from  certain.  But  Mabel  was  borne  away  by  her 
feelings,  and  she  rushed  by  him,  taking  the  way  towards 
the  boats. 

"This  will  not  do,  Mabel,"  said  the  scout  in  an  earnest 
but  low  voice,  seizing  her  by  an  arm;  "this  will  never 
do.  Sartain  death  would  follow,  and  that  without  sarving 
any  one.  We  must  return  to  the  block." 

"Father!  my  poor,  dear,  murdered  father!"  said  the 
girl  wildly,  though  habitual  caution,  even  at  that  trying 
moment,  induced  her  to  speak  low.  "Pathfinder,  if  you 
love  me,  let  me  go  to  my  dear  father. ' ' 

"This  will  not  do,  Mabel.  It  is  singular  that  no  one 
speaks;  no  one  returns  the  fire  from  the  boats;  and  I  have 
left  Killdeer  in  the  block!  But  of  what  use  would  a  rifle 
be  when  no  one  is  to  be  seen?" 

At  that  moment  the  quick  eye  of  Pathfinder,  which, 
while  he  held  Mabel  firmly  in  his  grasp,  had  never  ceased 


THE  PATHFINDER  383 

to  roam  over  the  dim  scene,  caught  an  indistinct  view  of 
five  or  six  crouching  forms,  endeavoring  to  steal  past  him, 
doubtless  with  the  intention  of  intercepting  the  retreat 
to  the  blockhouse.  Catching  up  Mabel,  and  putting  her 
under  an  arm,  as  if  she  were  an  infant,  the  sinewy  frame 
of  the  woodsman  was  exerted  to  the  utmost,  and  he  suc 
ceeded  in  entering  the  building.  The  tramp  of  his  pur 
suers  seemed  immediately  at  his  heels.  Dropping  his 
burden,  he  turned,  closed  the  door,  and  had  fastened  one 
bar,  as  a  rush  against  the  solid  mass  threatened  to  force 
it  from  the  hinges.  To  secure  the  other  bars  was  the 
work  of  an  instant. 

Mabel  now  ascended  to  the  first  floor,  while  Pathfinder 
remained  as  a  sentinel  below.  Our  heroine  was  in  that 
state  in  which  the  body  exerts  itself,  apparently  without 
the  control  of  the  mind.  She  relighted  the  candle  me 
chanically,  as  her  companion  had  desired,  and  returned 
writh  it  below,  where  he  was  waiting  her  reappearance. 
No  sooner  was  Pathfinder  in  possession  of  the  light  than 
he  examined  the  place  carefully,  to  make  certain  no  one 
was  concealed  in  the  fortress,  ascending  to  each  floor  in 
succession,  after  assuring  himself  that  he  left  no  enemy 
in  his  rear.  The  result  was  the  conviction  that  the  block 
house  now  contained  no  one  but  Mabel  and  himself,  June 
having  escaped.  When  perfectly  convinced  on  this  ma 
terial  point,  Pathfinder  rejoined  our  heroine  in  the  prin 
cipal  apartment,  setting  down  the  light  and  examining 
the  priming  of  Killdeer  before  he  seated  himself. 

"Our  worst  fears  are  realized!"  said  Mabel,  to  whom 
the  hurry  and  excitement  of  the  last  five  minutes  appeared 
to  contain  the  emotions  of  a  life.  "My  beloved  father 
and  all  his  party  are  slain  or  captured!" 

"We  don't  know  that — morning  will  tell  us  all.  I  do 
not  think  the  affair  so  settled  as  that,  or  we  should  hear 
the  vagabond  Mingoes  yelling  out  their  triumph  around 
the  blockhouse.  Of  one  thing  we  may  be  sartian;  if  the 
inimy  has  really  got  the  better,  he  will  not  be  long  in 
calling  upon  us  to  surrender.  The  squaw  will  let  him  into 
the  secret  of  our  situation;  and,  as  they  well  know  the 
place  cannot  be  fired  by  daylight,  so  long  as  Killdeer  con 
tinues  to  desarve  his  reputation,  you  may  depend  on  it 


384  THE  PATHFINDER 

that  they  will  not  be  backward  in  making  their  attempt 
while  darkness  helps  them." 

"Surely  I  hear  a  groan!" 

"  'Tis  fancy,  Mabel;  when  the  mind  gets  to  be  skeary, 
especially  a  woman's  mind,  she  often  concaits  things  that 
have  no  reality.  I've  known  them  that  imagined  there 
was  truth  in  dreams." 

"Nay,  I  am  not  deceived;  there  is  surely  one  below, 
and  in  pain." 

Pathfinder  was  compelled  to  own  that  the  quick  senses 
of  Mabel  had  not  deceived  her.  He  cautioned  her,  how 
ever,  to  repress  her  feelings;  and  reminded  her  that  the 
savages  were  in  the  practise  of  resorting  to  every  artifice 
to  attain  their  ends,  and  that  nothing  was  more  likely 
than  that  the  j groans  were  feigned  with  a  view  to  lure 
them  from  the  blockhouse,  or,  at  least,  to  induce  them  to 
open  the  door. 

"No,  no,  no!"  said  Mabel  hurriedly;  "there  is  no 
artifice  in  those  sounds,  and  they  come  from  anguish  of 
body,  if  not  of  spirit.  They  are  fearfully  natural." 

"Well,  we  shall  soon  know  whether  a  friend  is  there  or 
not.  Hide  the  light  again,  Mabel,  and  I  will  speak  the 
person  from  a  loop." 

Not  a  little  precaution  was  necessary,  according  to 
Pathfinder's  judgment  and  experience,  in  performing  even 
this  simple  act;  for  he  had  known  the  careless  slain  by 
their  want  of  proper  attention  to  what  might  have  seemed 
to  the  ignorant  supererogatory  means  of  safety.  He  did 
not  place  his  mouth  to  the  loop  itself,  but  so  near  it  that 
he  could  be  heard  without  raising  his  voice,  and  the  same 
precaution  was  observed  as  regards  his  ear. 

"Who  is  below?"  Pathfinder  demanded,  when  his 
arrangements  were  made  to  his  mind.  "Is  anyone  in 
suffering?  If  a  friend,  speak  boldly,  and  depend  on  our 
aid." 

"Pathfinder!"  answered  a  voice  that  both  Mabel  and 
the  person  addressed  at  once  knew  to  be  the  sergeant's — 
"Pathfinder,  in  the  name  of  God,  tell  me  what  has  become 
of  my  daughter." 

"Father,  I  am  here,  unhurt,  safe!  and  oh,  that  I  could 
think  the  same  of  you ! ' ' 


THE  PATHFINDER  385 

The  ejaculation  of  thanksgiving  that  followed  was  dis 
tinctly  audible  to  the  two,  but  it  was  clearly  mingled 
with  a  groan  of  pain. 

"My  worst  forebodings  are  realized!"  said  Mabel  with 
a  sort  of  desperate  calmness.  "Pathfinder,  my  father 
must  be  brought  within  the  block,  though  we  hazard 
everything  to  do  it. ' ' 

"This  is  natur',  and  it  is  the  law  of  God.  But,  Mabel, 
be  calm,  and  endivor  to  be  cool.  All  that  can  be  effected 
for  the  sergeant  by  human  invention  shall  be  done.  I 
only  ask  you  to  be  cool." 

"I  am,  I  am,  Pathfinder.  Never  in  my  life  was  I  more 
calm,  more  collected,  than  at  this  moment.  But  remem 
ber  how  perilous  maybe  every  instant;  for  Heaven's  sake, 
what  we  do,  let  us  do  without  delay." 

Pathfinder  was  struck  with  the  firmness  of  Mabel's 
tones,  and  perhaps  he  was  a  little  deceived  by  the  forced 
tranquillity  and  self-possession  she  had  assumed.  At  all 
events,  he  did  not  deem  any  further  explanations  neces 
sary,  but  descended  forthwith,  and  began  to  unbar  the 
door.  This  delicate  process  was  conducted  with  the  usual 
caution,  but,  as  he  warily  permitted  the  mass  of  timber 
to  swing  back  on  the  hinges,  he  felt  a  pressure  against 
it,  that  had  nearly  induced  him  to  close  it  again.  But, 
catching  a  glimpse  of  the  cause  through  the  crack,  the 
door  was  permitted  to  swing  back,  when  the  body  of  Ser 
geant  Dunham,  which  was  propped  against  it,  fell  partly 
within  the  block.  To  draw  in  the  legs  and  secure  the 
fastenings  occupied  the  Pathfinder  but  a  moment.  Then 
there  existed  no  obstacle  to  their  giving  their  undivided 
care  to  the  wounded  man. 

Mabel,  in  this  trying  scene,  conducted  herself  with  the 
sort  of  unnatural  energy  that  her  sex,  when  aroused,  is 
apt  to  manifest.  She  got  the  light,  administered  water 
to  the  parched  lips  of  her  father,  and  assisted  Pathfinder 
in  forming  a  bed  of  straw  for  his  body  and  a  pillow  of 
clothes  for  his  head.  All  this  was  done  earnestly,  and 
almost  without  speaking;  nor  did  Mabel  shed  a  tear,  until 
she  heard  the  blessings  of  her  father  murmured  on  her 
head  for  this  tenderness  and  care.  All  this  time  Mabel 
had  merely  conjectured  the  condition  of  her  parent. 
25 


386  THE  PATHFINDER 

Pathfinder,  however,  had  shown  greater  attention  to  the 
physical  danger  of  the  sergeant.  He  had  ascertained  that 
a  rifle-ball  had  passed  through  the  body  of  the  wounded 
man;  and  he  was  sufficiently  familiar  with  injuries  of  this 
nature  to  be  certain  that  the  chances  of  his  surviving  the 
hurt  were  very  trifling,  if  any. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

"  Then  drink  my  tears,  while  yet  they  fall- 
Would  that  my  bosom's  blood  were  balm; 
And— well  thou  knowest—  I'd  shed  it  all, 
To  give  thy  brow  one  minute's  calm.  " 

— MOORE. 

THE  eyes  of  Sergeant  Dunham  had  not  ceased  to  follow 
the  form  of  his  beautiful  daughter  from  the  moment  that 
the  light  appeared.  He  next  examined  the  door  of  the 
block,  to  ascertain  its  security;  for  he  was  left  on  the 
ground  below,  there  being  no  available  means  of  raising 
him  to  the  upper  floor.  Then  he  sought  the  face  of 
Mabel;  for  as  life  wanes  fast  the  affections  resume  their 
force,  and  we  begin  to  value  that  most  which  we  feel  we 
are  about  to  lose  forever. 

"God  be  praised,  my  child!  you,  at  least,  have  escaped 
their  murderous  rifles,"  he  said,  for  he  spoke  with 
strength,  and  seemingly  with  no  additional  pain.  "Give 
me  the  history  of  this  sad  business,  Pathfinder." 

"Ah's  me,  sergeant!  it  has  been  sad,  as  you  say.  That 
there  has  been  treachery,  and  the  position  of  the  island 
has  been  betrayed,  is  now  as  sartain,  in  my  judgment,  as 
that  we  still  hold  the  block.  But— 

"Major  Duncan  was  right,"  interrupted  Dunham,  lay 
ing  a  hand  on  the  other's  arm. 

"Not  in  the  sense  you  mean,  sergeant — no,  not  in  that 
p'int  of  view;  never!  At  least,  not  in  my  opinion.  I 
know  that  natur'  is  weak — human  natur',  I  mean — and 
that  we  should  none  of  us  vaunt  of  our  gifts,  whether  red 
or  white;  but  I  do  not  think  a  truer-hearted  lad  lives  on 
the  lines  than  Jasper  Western." 

"Bless  you !  bless  you  for  that,  Pathfinder ! ' '  burst  forth 
from  Mabel's  very  soul,  while  a  flood  of  tears  gave  vent 
to  emotions  that  were  so  varied  while  they  were  so  vio 
lent.  "Oh,  bless  you,  Pathfinder,  bless  you!  The  brave 
should  never  desert  the  brave — the  honest  should  sustain 
the  honest." 

387 


388  THE  PATHFINDER 

The  father's  eyes  were  fastened  anxiously  on  the  face  of 
his  daughter,  until  the  latter  hid  her  countenance  in  her 
apron  to  conceal  her  tears;  and  then  they  turned  with 
inquiry  to  the  hard  features  of  the  guide.  The  latter 
merely  wore  their  usual  expression  of  frankness,  sincer 
ity,  and  uprightness;  and  the  sergeant  motioned  to  him 
to  proceed. 

"You  know  the  spot  where  the  Sarpent  and  I  left  you, 
sergeant,"  Pathfinder  resumed;  "and  I  need  say  nothing 
of  all  that  happened  'afore.  It  is  now  too  late  to  regret 
what  is  gone  and  passed;  but  I  do  think  if  I  had  stayed 
with  the  boats  this  would  not  have  come  to  pass.  Other 
men  may  be  as  good  guides — I  make  no  doubt  they  are; 
but  then  natur'  bestows  its  gifts,  and  some  must  be  bet 
ter  than  other  some.  I  daresay  poor  Gilbert,  who  took 
my  place,  has  suffered  for  his  mistake. ' ' 

"He  fell  at  my  elbow,"  the  sergeant  answered  in  a  low, 
melancholy  tone.  "We  have,  indeed,  all  suffered  for 
our  mistakes. ' ' 

"No,  no,  sergeant,  I  meant  no  condemnation  on  you; 
for  men  were  never  better  commanded  than  yourn,  in  this 
very  expedition.  I  never  beheld  a  prettier  flanking;  and 
the  way  in  which  you  carried  your  own  boat  up  ag'in  their 
howitzer  might  have  teached  Lundie  himself  a  lesson." 

The  eyes  of  the  sergeant  brightened,  and  his  face  even 
wore  an  expression  of  military  triumph,  though  it  was  of 
a  degree  that  suited  the  humble  sphere  in  which  he  had 
been  an  actor. 

'Twas  not  badly  done,  my  friend,"  said  he;  "and  we 
carried  their  log  breastwork  by  storm." 

'Twas  nobly  done,  sergeant;  though,  I  fear,  when 
all  the  truth  comes  to  be  known,  it  will  be  found  that 
these  vagabonds  have  got  their  howitzer  back  ag'in. 
Well,  well,  put  a  stout  heart  upon  it,  and  try  to  forget 
all  that  is  disagreeable,  and  to  remember  only  the  pleasant 
part  of  the  matter.  That  is  your  truest  philosophy;  ay, 
and  truest  religion,  too.  If  the  inimy  has  got  the  howitzer 
ag'in,  they've  only  got  what  belonged  to  them  afore,  and 
what  we  couldn't  help.  They  haven't  got  the  blockhouse 
yet,  nor  are  they  likely  to  get  it,  unless  they  fire  it  in  the 
dark.  Well,  sergeant,  the  Sarpent  and  I  separated  about 


THE  PATHFINDER  389 

ten  miles  down  the  river;  for  we  thought  it  wisest  not  to 
come  upon  even  a  friendly  camp  without  the  usual  cau 
tion.  What  has  become  of  Chingachgook  I  cannot  say; 
though  Mabel  tells  me  he  is  not  far  off,  and  I  make  no 
question  the  noble-hearted  Delav/are  is  doing  his  duty, 
although  he  is  not  now  visible  to  our  eyes.  Mark  my 
word,  sergeant,  before  this  matter  is  over  we  shall  hear 
of  him  at  some  critical  time  and  that  in  a  discreet  and 
creditable  manner.  Ah,  the  Sarpent  is  indeed  a  wise  and 
virtuous  chief!  and  any  white  man  might  covet  his  gifts, 
though  his  rifle  is  not  quite  as  sure  as  Killdeer,  it  must  be 
owned.  Well,  as  I  came  near  the  island  I  missed  the 
smoke,  and  that  put  me  on  my  guard ;  for  I  knew  that  the 
men  of  the  55th  were  not  cunning  enough  to  conceal  that 
sign,  notwithstanding  all  that  has  been  told  them  of  its 
danger.  This  made  me  more  careful,  until  I  came  in 
sight  of  this  mock-fisherman,  as  I've  just  told  Mabel;  and 
then  the  wrhole  of  their  infernal  arts  was  as  plain  before 
me  as  if  I  saw  it  on  a  map.  I  need  not  tell  you,  sergeant, 
that  my  first  thoughts  were  of  Mabel;  and  that,  finding 
she  was  in  the  block,  I  came  here,  in  order  to  live  or  die 
in  her  company." 

The  father  turned  a  gratified  look  upon  his  child;  and 
Mabel  felt  a  sinking  of  the  heart  that  at  such  a  moment 
she  could  not  have  thought  possible,  when  she  wished  to 
believe  all  her  concern  centered  in  the  situation  of  her 
parent.  As  the  latter  held  out  his  hand,  she  took  it  in 
her  own  and  kissed  it.  Then,  kneeling  at  his  side,  she 
wept  as  if  her  heart  would  break. 

"Mabel,"  said  he  steadily,  "the  will  of  God  must  be 
done.  It  is  useless  to  attempt  deceiving  either  you  or 
myself,  my  time  has  come,  and  it  is  a  consolation  to  me 
to  die  like  a  soldier.  Lundie  will  do  me  justice;  for  our 
good  friend  Pathfinder  will  tell  him  what  has  been  done, 
and  how  all  came  to  pass.  You  do  not  forget  our  last 
conversation?" 

"Nay,  father,  my  time  has  probably  come,  too,"  ex 
claimed  Mabel,  who  felt  just  then  as  if  it  would  be  a 
relief  to  die.  "I  cannot  hope  to  escape;  and  Pathfinder 
would  do  well  to  leave  us,  and  return  to  the  garrison 
with  tb°  snd  news  while  he  can." 


390  THE  PATHFINDER 

"Mabel  Dunham,"  said  Pathfinder  reproachfully, 
though  he  took  her  hand  with  kindness,  "I  have  not 
desarved  this.  I  know  I  am  wild,  and  uncouth,  and 
ungainly ' ' 

"Pathfinder!" 

"Well,  well,  we'll  forget  it;  you  did  not  mean  it,  you 
could  not  think  it.  It  is  useless  now  to  talk  of  escaping, 
for  the  sergeant  cannot  be  moved;  and  the  blockhouse 
must  be  defended,  cost  what  it  will.  Maybe  Lundie  will 
get  the  tidings  of  our  disaster,  and  send  a  party  to  raise 
the  siege." 

"Pathfinder — Mabel!"  said  the  sergeant,  who  had  been 
writhing  with  pain  until  the  cold  sweat  stood  on  his 
forehead;  "come  both  to  my  side.  You  understand  each 
other,  I  hope?" 

"Father,  say  nothing  of  that;  it  is  all  as  you  wish." 

"Thank  God!  Give  me  your  hand,  Mabel — here,  Path 
finder,  take  it.  I  can  do  no  more  than  give  you  the  girl 
in  this  way.  I  know  you  will  make  her  a  kind  husband. 
Do  not  wait  on  account  of  my  death;  but  there  will  be  a 
chaplain  in  the  fort  before  the  season  closes,  and  let  him 
marry  you  at  once.  My  brother,  if  living,  will  wish  to 
go  back  to  his  vessel,  and  then  the  child  will  have  no 
protector.  Mabel,  your  husband  will  have  been  my 
friend,  and  that  will  be  some  consolation  to  you,  I  hope." 

"Trust  this  matter  to  me,  sergeant,"  put  in  Pathfinder; 
"leave  it  all  in  my  hands  as  your  dying  request;  and, 
depend  on  it,  all  will  go  as  it  should." 

"I  do,  I  do  put  all  confidence  in  you,  my  trusty  friend, 
and  empower  you  to  act  as  I  could  act  myself  in  every 
particular.  Mabel,  child— hand  me  the  water— you  will 
never  repent  this  night.  Bless  you,  my  daughter!  God 
bless,  and  have  you  in  His  holy  keeping!" 

This  tenderness  was  inexpressibly  touching  to  one  of 
Mabel's  feelings;  and  she  felt  at  that  moment  as  if  her 
future  union  with  Pathfinder  had  received  a  solemniza 
tion  that  no  ceremony  of  church  could  render  more  holy. 
Still,  a  weight,  as  that  of  a  mountain,  lay  upon  her  heart, 
and  she  thought  it  would  be  happiness  to  die.  Then  fol 
lowed  a  short  pause,  when  the  sergeant,  in  broken  sen 
tences,  briefly  related  what  had  passed  since  he  parted 


THE  PATHFINDER  391 

with  Pathfinder  and  the  Delaware.  The  wind  had  come 
more  favorable;  and,  instead  of  encamping  on  an  island 
agreeably  to  the  original  intention,  he  had  determined  to 
continue,  and  reach  the  station  that  night.  Their  ap 
proach  would  have  been  unseen,  and  a  portion  of  the  ca 
lamity  avoided,  he  thought,  had  they  not  grounded  on  the 
point  of  a  neighboring  island,  where,  no  doubt,  the  noise 
made  by  the  men  in  getting  off  the  boat  gave  notice  of 
their  approach,  and  enabled  the  enemy  to  be  in  readiness 
to  receive  them.  They  had  landed  without  the  slightest 
suspicion  of  danger,  though  surprised  at  not  finding  a 
sentinel,  and  had  actually  left  their  arms  in  the  boat, 
with  the  intention  of  first  securing  their  knapsacks  and 
provisions.  The  fire  had  been  so  close,  that,  notwith 
standing  the  obscurity,  it  was  very  deadly.  Every  man 
had  fallen,  though  two  or  three  subsequently  arose  and 
disappeared.  Four  or  five  of  the  soldiers  had  been  killed, 
or  so  nearly  so  as  to  survive  but  a  few  minutes;  though, 
for  some  unknown  reason,  the  enemy  did  not  make  the 
usual  rush  for  the  scalps.  Sergeant  Dunham  fell  with  the 
others;  and  he  had  heard  the  voice  of  Mabel,  as  she  rushed 
from  the  blockhouse.  This  frantic  appeal  aroused  all  his 
parental  feelings,  and  had  enabled  him  to  crawl  as  far  as 
the  door  of  the  building,  where  he  had  raised  himself 
against  the  logs  in  the  manner  already  mentioned. 

After  this  simple  explanation  was  made,  the  sergeant 
was  so  weak  as  to  need  repose,  and  his  companions,  while 
they  ministered  to  his  wants,  suffered  some  time  to  pass 
in  silence.  Pathfinder  took  the  occasion  to  reconnoiter 
from  the  loops  and  the  roof,  and  he  examined  the  condi 
tion  of  the  rifles,  of  which  there  were  a  dozen  kept  in  the 
building,  the  soldiers  having  used  their  regimental  mus 
kets  in  the  expedition.  But  Mabel  never  left  her  father's 
side  for  an  instant;  and  when,  by  his  breathing,  she 
fancied  he  slept,  she  bent  her  knees  and  prayed. 

The  half  hour  that  succeeded  was  awfully  solemn  and 
still.  The  moccasin  of  Pathfinder  was  barely  heard  over 
head,  and  occasionally  the  sound  of  the  breech  of  a  rifle 
fell  upon  the  floor,  for  he  was  busied  in  examining  the 
pieces,  with  a  view  to  ascertain  the  state  of  their  charges 
and  their  primings.  Beyond  this,  nothing  was  so  loud  as 


392  THE  PATHFINDER 

the  breathing  of  the  wounded  man.  Mabel's  heart  yearned 
to  be  in  communication  with  the  father  she  was  so  soon 
to  lose,  and  yet  she  would  not  disturb  his  apparent  repose. 
But  Dunham  slept  not;  he  was  in  that  state  when  the 
world  suddenly  loses  its  attractions,  its  illusions,  and  its 
power;  and  the  unknown  future  fills  the  mind  with  its 
conjectures,  its  revelations,  and  its  immensity.  He  had 
been  a  moral  man  for  one  of  his  mode  of  life,  but  he  had 
thought  little  of  this  all-important  moment.  Had  the 
din  of  battle  been  ringing  in  his  ears,  his  martial  ardor 
might  have  endured  to  the  end;  but  there,  in  the  silence 
of  that  nearly  untenanted  blockhouse,  with  no  sound  to 
enliven  him,  no  appeal  to  keep  alive  factitious  sentiment, 
no  hope  of  victory  to  impel,  things  began  to  appear  in 
their  true  colors,  and  this  state  of  being  to  be  estimated 
at  its  just  value.  He  would  have  given  treasures  for  re 
ligious  consolation,  and  yet  he  knew  not  where  to  turn  to 
seek  it.  He  thought  of  Pathfinder,  but  he  distrusted  his 
knowledge.  He  thought  of  Mabel,  but  for  the  parent  to 
appeal  to  the  child  for  such  succor  appeared  like  reversing 
the  order  of  nature.  Then  it  was  that  he  felt  the  full 
responsibility  of  the  parental  character,  and  had  some 
clear  glimpse  of  the  manner  in  which  he  himself  had 
discharged  the  trust  towards  an  orphan  child.  While 
thoughts  like  these  were  rising  in  his  mind,  Mabel,  who 
watched  the  slightest  change  in  his  breathing,  heard  a 
guarded  knock  at  the  door.  Supposing  it  might  be  Chin- 
gachgook,  she  rose,  undid  two  of  the  bars,  and  held  the 
third  in  her  hand,  as  she  asked  who  was  there.  The 
answer  was  in  her  uncle's  voice,  and  he  implored  her  to 
give  him  instant  admission.  Without  an  instant  of  hesi 
tation,  she  turned  the  bar,  and  Cap  entered.  He  had 
barely  passed  the  opening,  when  Mabel  closed  the  door 
again,  and  secured  it  as  before,  for  practise  had  rendered 
her  expert  in  this  portion  of  her  duties. 

The  sturdy  seaman,  when  he  had  made  sure  of  the  state 
of  his  brother-in-law,  and  that  Mabel,  as  well  as  himself, 
was  safe,  was  softened  nearly  to  tears.  His  own  appear 
ance  he  explained  by  saying  that  he  had  been  carelessly 
guarded,  under  the  impression  that  he  and  the  quarter 
master  were  sleeping  under  the  fumes  of  liquor  with 


THE  PATHFINDER  393 

which  they  had  been  plied  with  a  view  to  keep  them  quiet 
in  the  expected  engagement.  Muir  had  been  left  asleep, 
or  seeming  to  sleep;  but  Cap  had  run  into  the  bushes  on 
the  alarm  of  the  attack,  and  having  found  Pathfinder's 
canoe,  had  only  succeeded,  at  that  moment,  in  getting  to 
the  blockhouse,  whither  he  had  come  with  the  kind  intent 
of  escaping  with  his  niece  by  water.  It  is  scarcely  neces 
sary  to  say  that  he  changed  his  plan  when  he  ascertained 
the  state  of  the  sergeant,  and  the  apparent  security  of  his 
present  quarters. 

"If  the  worst  comes  to  the  worst,  Master  Pathfinder," 
said  he,  "we  must  strike,  and  that  will  entitle  us  to  re 
ceive  quarter.  We  owe  it  to  our  manhood  to  hold  out  a 
reasonable  time,  and  to  ourselves  to  haul  down  the  ensign 
in  season  to  make  saving  conditions.  I  wished  Master 
Muir  to  do  the  same  thing  when  we  were  captured  by 
these  chaps  you  call  vagabonds — and  rightly  are  they 
named,  for  viler  vagabonds  do  not  walk  the  earth — 

"You've  found  out  their  characters?"  interrupted 
Pathfinder,  who  was  always  as  ready  to  chime  in  with 
abuse  of  the  Mingoes  as  with  the  praises  of  his  friends. 
"Now,  had  you  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  Delawares, 
you  would  have  learned  the  difference." 

"Well,  to  me  they  seem  much  of  a  muchness;  black 
guards  fore  and  aft,  always  excepting  our  friend  the  Ser 
pent,  who  is  a  gentleman  for  an  Indian.  But,  when  these 
savages  made  the  assault  on  us,  killing  Corporal  M'Nab 
and  his  men  as  if  they  had  been  so  many  rabbits,  Lieu 
tenant  Muir  and  myself  took  refuge  in  one  of  the  holes  of 
this  here  island,  of  which  there  are  so  many  among  the 
rocks,  and  there  we  remained  stowed  away  like  two 
leaguers  in  a  ship's  hold,  until  we  gave  out  for  want  of 
grub.  A  man  may  say  that  grub  is  the  foundation  of  hu 
man  nature.  I  desired  the  quartermaster  to  make  terms, 
for  we  could  have  defended  ourselves  for  an  hour  or  two 
in  the  place,  bad  as  it  was;  but  he  declined,  on  the  ground 
that  the  knaves  wouldn't  keep  faith  if  any  of  them  were 
hurt,  and  so  there  was  no  use  in  asking  them  to.  I  con 
sented  to  strike,  on  two  principles;  one,  that  we  might 
be  said  to  have  struck  already,  for  running  below  is  gen 
erally  thought  to  be  giving  up  the  ship;  and  the  other, 


394  THE  PATHFINDER 

that  we  had  an  enemy  in  our  stomachs  that  was  more  for 
midable  in  his  attacks  than  the  enemy  on  deck.  Hunger 

is  a  d ble  circumstance,  as  any  man  who  has  lived  on 

it  eight-and-forty  hours  will  acknowledge." 

"Uncle,"  said  Mabel  in  a  mournful  voice  and  with  an 
expostulatory  manner,  "my  poor  father  is  sadly,  sadly 
hurt!" 

"True,  Magnet,  true;  I  will  sit  by  him,  and  do  my  best 
at  consolation.  Are  the  bars  well  fastened,  girl?  for  on 
such  an  occasion  the  mind  should  be  tranquil  and  undis 
turbed." 

"We  are  safe,  I  believe,  from  all  but  this  heavy  blow 
of  Providence." 

"Well,  then,  Magnet,  do  you  go  up  to  the  floor  above 
and  try  to  compose  yourself,  while  Pathfinder  runs  aloft 
and  takes  a  lookout  from  the  cross-trees.  Your  father 
may  wish  to  say  something  to  me  in  private,  and  it  may 
be  well  to  leave  us  alone.  These  are  solemn  scenes,  and 
inexperienced  people,  like  myself,  do  not  always  wish 
what  they  say  to  be  overheard." 

Although  the  idea  of  her  uncle's  affording  religious 
consolation  by  the  side  of  a  death-bed  certainly  never  ob 
truded  itself  on  the  imagination  of  Mabel,  she  thought 
there  might  be  a  propriety  in  the  request  with  which 
she  was  unacquainted,  and  she  complied  accordingly. 
Pathfinder  had  already  ascended  to  the  roof  to  make  his 
survey,  and  the  brothers-in-law  were  left  alone.  Cap  took 
a  seat  by  the  side  of  the  sergeant,  and  bethought  him 
seriously  of  the  grave  duty  he  had  before  him.  A  silence 
of  several  minutes  succeeded,  during  which  brief  space 
the  mariner  was  digesting  the  substance  of  his  intended 
discourse. 

"I  must  say,  Sergeant  Dunham,"  Cap  at  length  com- 
/nenced  in  his  peculiar  manner,  "that  there  has  been  mis 
management  somewhere  in  this  unhappy  expedition;  and, 
the  present  being  an  occasion  when  truth  ought  to  be 
spoken,  and  nothing  but  the  truth,  I  feel  it  my  duty  to 
say  as  much  in  plain  language.  In  short,  sergeant,  on 
this  point  there  cannot  well  be  two  opinions;  for,  seaman 
as  I  am,  and  no  soldier,  I  can  see  several  errors  myself, 
that  it  needs  no  great  education  to  detect." 


THE  PATHFINDER  395 

"What  would  you  have,  brother  Cap?"  returned  the 
other  in  a  feeble  voice;  "what  is  done  is  done;  and  it  is 
now  too  late  to  remedy  it." 

"Very  true,  brother  Dunham,  but  not  to  repent  of  it; 
the  Good  Book  tells  us  it  is  never  too  late  to  repent;  and 
I've  always  heard  that  this  is  the  precious  moment.  If 
you've  anything  on  your  mind,  sergeant,  hoist  it  out 
freely;  for,  you  know,  you  trust  it  to  a  friend.  You  were 
my  own  sister's  husband,  and  poor  little  Magnet  is  my 
own  sister's  daughter;  and,  living  or  dead,  I  shall  always 
look  upon  you  as  a  brother.  It's  a  thousand  pities  that 
you  didn't  lie  off  and  on  with  the  boats,  and  send  a  canoe 
ahead  to  reconnoiter;  in  which  case  your  command  would 
have  been  saved,  and  this  disaster  would  not  have  befallen 
us  all.  Well,  sergeant,  we  are  all  mortal;  that  is  some 
consolation,  I  make  no  doubt;  and  if  you  go  before  a  lit 
tle,  why,  we  must  follow.  Yes,  that  must  give  you  con 
solation." 

"I  know  all  this,  brother  Cap;  arid  hope  I'm  prepared 
to  meet  a  soldier's  fate— there  is  poor  Mabel " 

"Ay,  ay,  that's  a  heavy  drag,  I  know;  but  you  wouldn't 
take  her  with  you  if  you  could,  sergeant;  and  so  the 
better  way  is  to  make  as  light  of  the  separation  as  you 
can.  Mabel  is  a  good  girl,  and  so  was  her  mother  before 
her;  she  was  my  sister,  and  it  shall  be  rnycare  to  see  that 
her  daughter  gets  a  good  husband,  if  our  lives  and  scalps 
are  spared ;  for  I  suppose  no  one  would  care  about  enter 
ing  into  a  family  that  has  no  scalps." 

"Brother,  my  child  is  betrothed;  she  will  become  the 
wife  of  Pathfinder. ' ' 

"Well,  brother  Dunham,  every  man  has  his  opinions 
and  his  manner  of  viewing  things;  and,  to  my  notion, 
this  match  will  be  anything  but  agreeable  to  Mabel.  I 
have  no  objection  to  the  age  of  the  man;  I'm  not  one  of 
them  that  thinks  it  necessary  to  be  a  boy  to  make  a  girl 
happy,  but,  on  the  whole,  I  prefer  a  man  about  fifty  for  a 
husband;  still  there  ought  not  to  be  any  circumstance 
between  the  parties  to  make  them  unhappy.  Circum 
stances  play  the  devil  with  matrimony,  and  I  set  it  down 
as  one  that  Pathfinder  don't  know  as  much  as  my  niece. 
You've  seen  but  little  nf  tV>e  girl,  s^rereant.  and  have  not 


396  THE  PATHFINDER 

got  the  run  of  her  knowledge;  but  let  her  pay  it  out 
freely,  as  she  will  do  when  she  gets  to  be  thoroughly  ac 
quainted,  and  you'll  fall  in  with  but  few  schoolmasters 
that  can  keep  their  luffs  in  her  company." 

" She's  a  good  child — a  dear,  good  child,"  muttered 
the  sergeant,  his  eyes  filling  with  tears;  "and  it  is  my 
misfortune  that  I  have  seen  so  little  of  her." 

"She  is  indeed  a  good  girl,  and  knows  altogether  too 
much  for  poor  Pathfinder,  who  is  a  reasonable  man  and 
an  experienced  man  in  his  own  way;  but  who  has  no  more 
idea  of  the  main  chance  than  you  have  of  spherical  trigo 
nometry,  sergeant." 

"Ah,  brother  Cap,  had  Pathfinder  been  with  us  in  the 
boats,  this  sad  affair  might  not  have  happened!" 

"That  is  quite  likely;  for  his  worst  enemy  will  allow 
that  the  man  is  a  good  guide;  but  then,  sergeant,  if  the 
truth  must  be  spoken,  you  have  managed  this  expedition 
in  a  loose  way  altogether.  You  should  have  hove-to  off 
your  haven,  and  sent  in  a  boat  to  reconnoiter,  as  I  told 
you  before.  That  is  a  matter  to  be  repented  of;  and  I 
tell  it  to  you,  because  truth,  in  such  a  case,  ought  to  be 
spoken. ' ' 

"My  errors  are  dearly  paid  for,  brother;  and  poor 
Mabel,  I  fear,  will  be  the  sufferer.  I  think,  however,  that 
the  calamity  would  not  have  happened  had  there  not  been 
treason.  I  fear  me,  brother,  that  Jasper  Eau-douce  has 
played  us  false. ' ' 

"That  is  just  my  notion;  for  this  fresh-water  life  must 
sooner  or  later  undermine  any  man's  morals.  Lieutenant 
Muir  and  myself  talked  this  matter  over  while  we  lay  in 
a  bit  of  a  hole  out  here,  on  this  island ;  and  we  both  came 
to  the  conclusion  that  nothing  short  of  Jasper's  treachery 
could  have  brought  us  all  into  this  infernal  scrape.  Well, 
sergeant,  you  had  better  compose  your  mind,  and  think 
of  other  matters;  for,  when  a  vessel  is  about  to  enter  a 
strange  port,  it  is  more  prudent  to  think  of  the  anchorage 
inside  than  to  be  underrunning  all  the  events  that  have 
turned  up  during  the  v'y'ge.  There's  the  log-book  ex 
pressly  to  note  all  these  matters  in;  and  what  stands  there 
must  form  the  column  of  figures  that's  to  be  posted  up  for 
or  against  us.  How  now,  Pathfinder!  is  there  anything 


THE  PATHFINDER  397 

in  the  wind,  that  you  come  down  the  ladder  like  an  Indian 
in  the  wake  of  a  scalp?" 

The  guide  raised  a  finger  for  silence,  and  then  beckoned 
to  Cap  to  ascend  the  first  ladder,  and  to  allow  Mabel  to 
take  his  place  at  the  side  of  the  sergeant. 

"We  must  be  prudent,  and  we  must  be  bold,  too,"  said 
he  in  a  low  voice.  "The  riptyles  are  in  earnest  in  their 
intention  to  fire  the  block;  for  they  know  there  is  now 
nothing  to  be  gained  by  letting  it  stand.  I  hear  the  voice 
of  that  vagabond  Arrowhead  among  them,  and  he  is  urging 
them  to  set  about  their  deviltry  this  very  night.  We  must 
be  stirring,  Saltwater,  and  doing  too.  Luckily  there  are 
four  or  five  barrels  of  water  in  the  block,  and  these  are 
something  towards  a  siege.  My  reckoning  is  wrong,  too, 
or  we  shall  yet  reap  some  advantage  from  that  honest 
fellow's,  the  Sarpent,  being  at  liberty." 

Cap  did  not  wait  for  a  second  invitation;  but,  stealing 
away,  he  was  soon  in  the  upper  room  with  Pathfinder, 
while  Mabel  took  his  post  at  the  side  of  her  father's 
humble  bed.  Pathfinder  had  opened  a  loop,  having  so  far 
concealed  the  light  that  it  would  not  expose  him  to  a 
treacherous  shot;  and,  expecting  a  summons,  he  stood 
with  his  face  near  the  hole,  ready  to  answer.  The  still 
ness  that  succeeded  was  at  length  broken  by  the  voice  of 
Muir. 

"Master  Pathfinder,"  called  out  the  Scotchman,  "a 
friend  summons  you  to  a  parley.  Come  freely  to  one  of 
the  loops;  for  you've  nothing  to  fear  so  long  as  you  are 
in  converse  with  an  officer  of  the  55th." 

"What  is  your  will,  quartermaster?  what  is  your  will? 
I  know  the  55th,  and  believe  it  to  be  a  brave  regiment; 
though  I  rather  incline  to  the  60th  as  my  favorite,  and 
to  the  Delawares  more  than  to  either;  but  what  would 
you  have,  quartermaster?  It  must  be  a  pressing  errand 
that  brings  you  under  the  loops  of  a  blockhouse  at  this 
hour  of  the  night,  with  the  sartainty  of  Killdeer  being 
inside  of  it." 

"Oh,  you'll  no'  harm  a  friend,  Pathfinder,  I'm  certain; 
and  that's  my  security.  You're  a  man  of  judgment,  and 
have  gained  too  great  a  name  on  this  frontier  for  bravery 
to  feel  the  necessity  of  foolhardinoss  to  obtain  a  char- 


398  THE  PATHFINDER 

acter.  You'll  very  well  understand,  my  good  friend, 
there  is  as  much  credit  to  be  gained  by  submitting  grace 
fully,  when  resistance  becomes  impossible,  as  by  obsti 
nately  holding  out  contrary  to  the  rules  of  war.  The 
enemy  is  too  strong  for  us,  my  brave  comrade,  and  I  come 
to  counsel  you  to  give  up  the  block,  on  condition  of  being 
treated  as  a  prisoner  of  war. ' ' 

"I  thank  you  for  this  advice,  quartermaster,  which  is 
the  more  acceptable  as  it  costs  nothing;  but  I  do  not  think 
it  belongs  to  my  gifts  to  yield  a  place  like  this  while  food 
and  water  last." 

"Well,  I'd  be  the  last,  Pathfinder,  to  recommend  any 
thing  against  so  brave  a  resolution,  did  I  see  the  means 
of  maintaining  it.  But  ye'll  remember  that  Master  Cap 
has  fallen. ' ' 

"Not  he,  not  he!"  roared  the  individual  in  question 
through  another  loop;  "and  so  far  from  that,  lieutenant, 
he  has  risen  to  the  height  of  this  here  fortification,  and 
has  no  mind  to  put  his  head  of  hair  into  the  hands  of  such 
barbers  again,  so  long  as  he  can  help  it.  I  look  upon  this 
blockhouse  as  a  circumstance,  and  have  no  mind  to  throw 
it  away." 

"If  that  is  a  living  voice,"  returned  Muir,  "I  am  glad 
to  hear  it;  for  we  all  thought  the  man  had  fallen  in  the 
late  fearful  confusion.  But,  Master  Pathfinder,  although 
ye' re  enjoying  the  society  of  our  friend  Cap — and  a  great 
pleasure  do  I  know  it  to  be,  by  the  experience  of  two 
days  and  a  night  passed  in  a  hole  in  the  earth — we've  lost 
that  of  Sergeant  Dunham,  who  has  fallen,  with  all  the 
brave  men  he  led  in  the  late  expedition.  Lundie  would 
have  it  so,  though  it  would  have  been  more  discreet  and 
becoming  to  send  a  commissioned  officer  in  command. 
Dunham  was  a  brave  man,  notwithstanding,  and  shall 
have  justice  done  his  memory.  In  short,  we  have  all  acted 
for  the  best,  and  that  is  as  much  as  could  be  said  in  favor 
of  Prince  Eugene,  the  Duke  of  Marlborough,  or  the  great 
Earl  of  Stair  himself." 

"You're  wrong  ag'in,  quartermaster,  you're  wrong 
ag'in,"  answered  Pathfinder,  resorting  to  a  ruse  to  mag 
nify  his  force.  "The  sergeant  is  safe  in  the  block,  too, 
where  one  might  say  the  whole  family  is  collected." 


THE  PATHFINDER  399 

"Well,  I  rejoice  to  hear  it,  for  we  had  certainly  counted 
the  sergeant  among  the  slain.  If  pretty  Mabel  is  in  the 
block  still,  let  her  not  delay  an  instant,  for  heaven's  sake, 
in.  quitting  it,  for  the  enemy  is  about  to  put  it  to  the 
trial  by  fire.  Ye  know  the  potency  of  that  dread  element, 
and  will  be  acting  more  like  the  discreet  and  experienced 
warrior  ye're  universally  allowed  to  be,  in  yielding  a 
place  you  canna'  defend,  than  in  drawing  down  ruin  on 
yourself  and  companions." 

"1  know  the  potency  of  fire,  as  you  call  it,  quarter 
master;  and  am  not  to  be  told,  at  this  late  hour,  that  it 
can  be  used  for  something  else  besides  cooking  a  dinner. 
But  I  make  no  doubt  you've  heard  of  the  potency  of  Kill- 
deer,  and  the  man  who  attempts  to  lay  a  pile  of  brush 
against  these  logs  will  get  a  taste  of  his  power.  As  for 
arrows,  it  is  not  in  their  gift  to  set  this  building  on  fire, 
for  we've  no  shingles  on  our  roof,  but  good  solid  logs  and 
green  bark,  and  plenty  of  water  besides.  The  roof  is  so 
flat,  too,  as  you  know  yourself,  quartermaster,  that  we  can 
walk  on  it,  and  so  no  danger  on  that  score  while  water 
lasts.  I'm  peaceable  enough  if  let  alone;  but  he  who 
endivors  to  burn  this  block  over  my  head  will  find  the 
fire  squinched  in  his  own  blood." 

"This  is  idle  and  romantic  talk,  Pathfinder,  and  ye'll 
no'  maintain  it  yourself  when  ye  come  to  meditate  on  the 
realities.  I  hope  ye'll  no'  gainsay  the  loyalty  or  the 
courage  of  the  55th,  and  I  feel  convinced  that  a  council 
of  war  would  decide  on  the  propriety  of  a  surrender  forth 
with.  Na,  na,  Pathfinder,  foolhardiness  is  na  mair  like 
the  bravery  o'  Wallace  or  Bruce  than  Albany  on  the  Hud 
son  is  like  the  old  town  of  Edinbro'." 

"As  each  of  us  seems  to  have  made  up  his  mind,  quar 
termaster,  more  words  are  useless.  If  the  riptyles  near 
you  are  disposed  to  set  about  their  hellish  job,  let  them 
begin  at  once.  They  can  burn  wood,  and  I'll  burn  pow 
der.  If  I  were  an  Indian  at  the  stake,  I  suppose  I  could 
brag  as  well  as  the  rest  of  them;  but,  my  gifts  and  natur' 
being  both  white,  my  turn  is  rather  for  doing  than  talk 
ing.  You've  said  quite  enough,  considering  you  carry  the 
king's  commission;  and  should  we  all  be  consumed,  none 
of  us  will  bear  you  any  malice." 


400  THE  PATHFINDER 

"Pathfinder,  ye'll  no'  be  exposing  Mabel,  pretty  Mabel 
Dunham,  to  sic'  a  calamity!" 

"Mabel  Dunham  is  by  the  side  of  her  wounded  father, 
and  God  will  care  for  the  safety  of  a  pious  child.  Not  a 
hair  of  her  head  shall  fall,  while  my  arm  and  sight  remain 
true;  and  though  you  may  trust  the  Mingoes,  Master 
Muir,  I  put  no  faith  in  them.  You've  a  knavish  Tusca- 
rora  in  your  company  there,  who  has  art  and  malice 
enough  to  spoil  the  character  of  any  tribe  with  which  he 
consorts,  though  he  found  the  Mingoes  ready  ruined  to 
his  hands,  I  fear.  But  enough  said;  now  let  each  party 
go  to  the  use  of  his  means  and  his  gifts." 

Throughout  this  dialogue  Pathfinder  had  kept  his  body 
covered,  lest  a  treacherous  shot  should  be  aimed  at  the 
loop;  and  he  now  directed  Cap  to  ascend  to  the  roof  in 
order  to  be  in  readiness  to  meet  the  first  assault.  Al 
though  the  latter  used  sufficient  diligence,  he  found  no 
less  than  ten  blazing  arrows  sticking  to  the  bark,  while 
the  air  was  filled  with  the  yells  and  whoops  of  the  enemy. 
A  rapid  discharge  of  rifles  followed,  and  the  bullets  came 
pattering  against  the  logs,  in  a  way  to  show  that  the 
struggle  had  indeed  seriously  commenced. 

These  were  sounds,  however,  that  appalled  neither  Path 
finder  nor  Cap,  while  Mabel  was  too  much  absorbed  ia 
her  affliction  to  feel  alarm.  She  had  good  sense  enough, 
too,  to  understand  the  nature  of  the  defenses,  and  fully 
to  appreciate  their  importance.  As  for  her  father,  the 
familiar  noises  revived  him;  and  it  pained  his  child,  at 
such  a  moment,  to  see  that  his  glassy  eye  began  to  kindle, 
and  that  the  blood  returned  to  a  cheek  it  had  deserted,  as 
he  listened  to  the  uproar.  It  was  now  Mabel  first  per 
ceived  that  his  reason  began  slightly  to  wander. 

"Order  up  the  light  companies,"  he  muttered,  "and 
let  the  grenadiers  charge!  Do  they  dare  to  attack  us  in 
our  fort?  Why  does  not  the  artillery  open  on  them?" 

At  that  instant  the  heavy  report  of  a  gun  burst  on  the 
night;  and  the  crashing  of  rending  wood  was  heard,  as  a 
heavy  shot  tore  the  logs  in  the  room  above,  and  the  whole 
block  shook  with  the  force  of  a  shell  that  lodged  in  the 
work.  The  Pathfinder  narrowly  escaped  the  passage  of 
this  formidable  missile  as  it  entered;  but  when  it  ex- 


THE  PATHFINDER  401 

ploded,  Mabel  could  not  suppress  a  shriek,  for  she  sup 
posed  all  over  her  head,  whether  animate  or  inanimate, 
destroyed.  To  increase  her  horror,  her  father  shouted  in 
a  frantic  voice  to  "charge!" 

"Mabel,"  said  Pathfinder,  with  his  head  at  the  trap, 
"this  is  true  Mingo  work — more  noise  than  injury.  The 
vagabonds  have  got  the  howitzer  we  took  from  the  French, 
and  have  discharged  it  ag'in  the  block;  but  fortunately 
they  have  fired  off  the  only  shell  we  had,  and  there  is  an 
Lid  of  its  use  for  the  present.  There  is  some  confusion 
among  the  stores  up  in  this  loft,  but  no  one  is  hurt. 
Your  uncle  is  still  on  the  roof;  and,  as  for  myself,  I've 
run  the  gauntlet  of  too  many  rifles  to  be  skeary  about 
such  a  thing  as  a  howitzer,  and  that  in  Indian  hands." 

Mabel  murmured  her  thanks,  and  tried  to  give  all  her 
attention  to  her  father,  whose  efforts  to  rise  were  only 
counteracted  by  his  debility.  During  the  fearful  minutes 
that  succeeded,  she  was  so  much  occupied  with  the  care 
of  the  invalid  that  she  scarcely  heeded  the  clamor  that 
reigned  around  her.  Indeed,  the  uproar  was  so  great, 
that,  had  not  her  thoughts  been  otherwise  employed,  con 
fusion  of  faculties  rather  than  alarm'would  probably  have 
been  the  consequence. 

Cap  preserved  his  coolness  admirably.  He  had  a  pro 
found  and  increasing  respect  for  the  power  of  the  savages, 
and  even  for  the  majesty  of  fresh  water,  it  is  true;  but 
his  apprehensions  of  the  former  proceeded  more  than  his 
dread  of  being  scalped  and  tortured  than  from  any  unmanly 
fear  of  death;  and,  as  he  was  now  on  the  deck  of  a  house, 
if  not  on  the  deck  of  a  ship,  and  knew  that  there  was 
little  danger  of  boarders,  he  moved  about  with  a  fearless 
ness  and  a  rash  exposure  of  his  person  that  Pathfinder, 
had  he  been  aware  of  the  fact,  would  have  been  the  first 
to  condemn.  Instead  of  keeping  his  body  covered,  agree 
ably  to  the  usages  of  Indian  warfare,  he  was  seen  on  every 
part  of  the  roof,  dashing  the  water  right  and  left,  with 
the  apparent  steadiness  and  unconcern  he  would  have 
manifested  had  he  been  a  sail  trimmer  exercising  his  art 
in  a  battle  afloat.  His  appearance  was  one  of  the  causes 
of  the  extraordinary  clamor  among  the  assailants;  who, 
unused  to  see  their  enemies  so  reckless,  opened  upon  him 
26 


402  THE  PATHFINDER 

with  their  tongues,  like  a  pack  that  has  the  fox  in  view. 
Still  he  appeared  to  possess  a  charmed  life;  for,  though 
the  bullets  whistled  around  him  on  every  side,  and  his 
clothes  were  several  times  torn,  nothing  cut  his  skin. 
When  the  shell  passed  through  the  logs  below,  the  old 
sailor  dropped  his  bucket,  waved  his  hat,  and  gave  three 
cheers;  in  which  heroic  act  he  was  employed  as  the  danger 
ous  missile  exploded.  This  characteristic  feat  probably 
saved  his  life;  for  from  that  instant  the  Indians  ceased  to 
fire  at  him,  and  even  to  shoot  their  flaming  arrows  at  the 
block,  having  taken  up  the  notion  simultaneously,  and  by 
common  consent,  that  the  "Saltwater"  was  mad;  and  it 
was  a  singular  effect  of  their  magnanimity  never  to  lift  a 
hand  against  those  whom  they  imagined  devoid  of  reason. 

The  conduct  of  Pathfinder  was  very  different.  Every 
thing  he  did  was  regulated  by  the  most  exact  calculation, 
the  result  of  long  experience  and  habitual  thoughtfulness. 
His  person  was  kept  carefully  out, _of  a  line  with  the  loops, 
and  the  spot  that  he  selected  for  his  lookout  was  one  quite 
removed  from  danger.  This  celebrated  guide  had  often 
been  known  to  lead  forlorn  hopes;  he  had  once  stood  at 
the  stake,  suffering  under  the  cruelties  and  taunts  of  sav 
age  ingenuity  and  savage  ferocity  without  quailing;  and 
legends  of  his  exploits,  coolness,  and  daring  were  to  be 
heard  all  along  that  extensive  frontier,  or  wherever  men 
dwelt  and  men  contended.  But  on  this  occasion,  one  who 
did  not  know  his  history  and  character  might  have  thought 
his  exceeding  care  and  studied  attention  to  self-preserva 
tion  proceeded  from  an  unworthy  motive.  But  such  a 
judge  would  not  have  understood  his  subject;  the  Path 
finder  bethought  him  of  Mabel,  and  of  what  might  pos 
sibly  be  the  consequences  to  that  poor  girl  should  any 
casualty  befall  himself.  But  the  recollection  rather  quick 
ened  his  intellect  than  changed  his  customary  prudence. 
He  was,  in  fact,  one  of  those  who  was  so  unaccustomed 
to  fear,  that  he  never  bethought  him  of  the  constructions 
others  might  put  upon  his  conduct.  But  while  in  mo 
ments  of  danger  he  acted  with  the  wisdom  of  the  serpent, 
it  was  also  with  the  simplicity  of  a  child. 

For  the  first  ten  minutes  of  the  assault,  Pathfinder 
never  raised  the  breech  of  his  rifle  from  the  floor,  except 


THE  PATHFINDER  403 

when  he  changed  his  own  position,  for  he  well  knew  that 
the  bullets  of  the  enemy  were  thrown  away  upon  the  mas 
sive  logs  of  the  work;  and,  as  he  had  been  at  the  capture 
of  the  howitzer,  he  felt  certain  that  the  savages  had  no 
other  shell  than  the  one  found  in  it  when  the  piece  was 
taken.  There  existed  no  reason,  therefore,  to  dread  the 
fire  of  the  assailants,  except  as  a  casual  bullet  might  find 
a  passage  through  a  loophole.  One  or  two  of  these  acci 
dents  did  occur,  but  the  balls  entered  at  an  angle  that 
deprived  them  of  all  chance  of  doing  any  injury  so  long 
as  the  Indians  kept  near  the  block;  and  if  discharged  from 
a  distance  there  was  scarcely  the  possibility  of  one  in  a 
hundred  striking  the  apertures.  But  when  Pathfinder 
heard  the  sound  of  moccasined  feet  and  the  rustling  of 
brush  at  the  foot  of  the  building,  he  knew  that  the  at 
tempt  to  build  a  fire  against  the  logs  was  about  to  be  re 
newed.  He  now  summoned  Cap  from  the  roof,  where,  in 
deed,  all  the  danger  had  ceased,  and  directed  him  to  stand 
in  readiness  with  his  water  at  a  hole  immediately  over 
the  spot  assailed. 

One  less  trained  than  our  hero  would  have  been  in  a 
hurry  to  repel  this  dangerous  attempt  also,  and  might 
have  resorted  to  his  means  prematurely;  not  so  with  Path 
finder.  His  aim  was  not  only  to  extinguish  the  fire,  about 
which  he  felt  little  apprehension,  but  to  give  the  enemy 
a  lesson  that  would  render  him  wary  during  the  remainder 
of  the  night.  In  order  to  effect  the  latter  purpose,  it  be 
came  necessary  to  wait  until  the  light  of  the  intended 
conflagration  should  direct  his  aim,  when  he  well  knew 
that  a  very  slight  effort  of  his  skill  would  suffice.  The 
Iroquois  were  permitted  to  collect  their  heap  of  dried 
brush,  to  pile  it  against  the  block,  to  light  it,  and  to  re 
turn  to  their  covers  without  molestation.  All  that  Path 
finder  would  suffer  Cap  to  do,  was  to  roll  a  barrel  filled 
with  water  to  the  hole  immediately  over  the  spot,  in 
readiness  to  be  used  at  the  proper  instant.  That  moment, 
however,  did  not  arrive,  in  his  judgment,  until  the  blaze 
illuminated  the  surrounding  bushes,  and  there  had  been 
time  for  his  quick  and  practised  eye  to  detect  the  forms 
of  three  or  four  lurking  savages,  who  were  watching  the 
progress  of  the  flames,  with  the  cool  indifforonr>e  of  men 


404  THE  PATHFINDER 

accustomed  to  look  on  human  misery  with  apathy.  Then, 
indeed,  he  spoke. 

"Are  you  ready,  friend  Cap?"  he  asked.  "The  heat 
begins  to  strike  through  the  crevices;  and  although  these 
green  logs  are  not  of  the  fiery  natur'  of  an  ill-tempered 
man,  they  may  be  kindled  into  a  blaze  if  one  provokes 
them  too  much.  Are  you  ready  with  the  barrel?  See 
that  it  has  the  right  cut,  and  that  none  of  the  water  is 
wasted." 

"All  ready!"  answered  Cap,  in  the  manner  in  which  a 
seaman  replies  to  such  a  demand. 

"Then  wait  for  the  word.  Never  be  over-impatient  in 
a  critical  time,  nor  fool-risky  in  a  battle.  Wait  for  the 
word." 

While  the  Pathfinder  was  giving  these  directions,  he 
was  also  making  his  own  preparations;  for  he  saw  it  was 
time  to  act.  Killdeer  was  deliberately  raised,  pointed, 
and  discharged.  The  whole  process  occupied  about  half 
a  minute,  and  as  the  rifle  was  drawn  in  the  eye  of  the 
marksman  was  applied  to  the  hole. 

"There  is  one  riptylethe  less,"  Pathfinder  muttered  to 
himself;  "I've  seen  that  vagabond  afore,  and  know  him 
to  be  a  marciless  devil.  Well,  well!  the  man  acted  ac 
cording  to  his  gifts,  and  he  has  been  rewarded  according 
to  his  gifts.  One  more  of  the  knaves,  and  that  will  sarve 
the  turn  for  to-night.  When  daylight  appears,  we  may 
have  hotter  work. ' ' 

All  this  time  another  rifle  was  being  got  ready;  and 
as  Pathfinder  ceased,  a  second  savage  fell.  This  indeed 
sufficed;  for,  indisposed  to  wait  for  a  third  visitation 
from  the  same  hand,  the  whole  band,  which  had  been 
crouching  in  the  bushes  around  the  block,  ignorant  of 
who  was  and  who  was  not  exposed  to  view,  leaped  from 
their  covers  and  fled  to  different  places  for  safety. 

"Now,  pour  away,  Master  Cap,"  said  Pathfinder;  "I've 
made  my  mark  on  the  blackguards;  and  we  shall  have  no 
more  fires  lighted  to-night. ' ' 

"Scaldings!"  cried  Cap,  upsetting  the  barrel,  with  a 
care  that  at  once  and  completely  extinguished  the  flames. 

This  ended  the  singular  conflict;  and  the  remainder  of 
the  night  passed  in  peace.  Pathfinder  and  Cap  watched 


THE  PATHFINDER  405 

alternately,  though  neither  can  be  said  to  have  slept. 
Sleep  indeed  scarcely  seemed  necessary  to  them,  for  both 
were  accustomed  to  protracted  watchings;  and  there  were 
seasons  and  times  when  the  former  appeared  to  be  lit 
erally  insensible  to  the  demands  of  hunger  and  thirst  and 
callous  to  the  effects  of  fatigue. 

Mabel  watched  by  her  father's  pallet,  and  began  to 
feel  how  much  our  happiness  in  this  world  depends  even 
on  things  that  are  imaginary.  Hitherto  she  had  virtually 
lived  without  a  father,  the  connection  with  her  remaining 
parent  being  ideal  rather  than  positive;  but  now  that 
she  was  about  to  lose  him,  she  thought  for  the  moment 
that  the  world  would  be  a  void  after  his  death,  and  that 
she  could  never  be  acquainted  with  happiness  again. 


"  There  was  a  roaring  in  the  wind  all  night; 
The  rain  came  heavily  and  fell  in  floods; 
But  now  the  sun  is  rising  calm  and  bright; 
The  birds  are  singing  in  the  distant  •woods." 

—WORDSWORTH. 

As  the  light  returned,  Pathfinder  and  Cap  ascended 
again  to  the  roof,  with  a  view  to  reconnoiter  the  state  of 
things  once  more  on  the  island.  This  part  of  the  block 
house  had  a  low  battlement  around  it,  which  afforded  a 
considerable  protection  to  those  who  stood  in  its  center; 
the  intention  having  been  to  enable  marksmen  to  lie  be 
hind  it  and  to  fire  over  its  top.  By  making  proper  use, 
therefore,  of  these  slight  defenses — slight  as  to  height, 
though  abundantly  ample  as  far  as  they  went — the  two 
lookouts  commanded  a  pretty  good  view  of  the  island,  its 
covers  excepted,  and  of  most  of  the  channels  that  led  to 
the  spot. 

The  gale  was  still  blowing  very  fresh  at  south;  and 
there  were  places  in  the  river  where  its  surface  looked 
green  and  angry,  though  the  wind  had  hardly  sweep 
enough  to  raise  the  water  into  foam.  The  shape  of  the 
little  island  was  nearly  oval,  and  its  greater  length  was 
from  east  to  west.  By  keeping  in  the  channels  that 
washed  it,  in  consequence  of  their  several  courses  and  of 
the  direction  of  the  gale,  it  would  have  been  possible  for 
a  vessel  to  range  past  the  island  on  either  of  its  principal 
sides,  and  always  to  keep  the  wind  very  nearly  abeam. 
These  were  the  facts  first  noticed  by  Cap,  and  explained 
to  his  companion;  for  the  hopes  of  both  now  rested  on  the 
chances  of  relief  sent  from  Oswego.  At  this  instant,  while 
they  stood  gazing  anxiously  about  them,  Cap  cried  out, 
in  his  lusty,  hearty  manner: 

"Sail,  ho!" 

Pathfinder  turned  quickly  in  the  direction  of  his  com 
panion's  face;  and  there,  sure  enough,  was  just  visible 

406 


THE  PATHFINDER  407 

the  object  of  the  old  sailor's  exclamation.  The  elevation 
enabled  the  two  to  overlook  the  low  land  of  several  of  the 
adjacent  islands;  and  the  canvas  of  a  vessel  was  seen 
through  the  bushes  that  fringed  the  shore  of  one  that  lay 
to  the  southward  and  westward.  The  stranger  was  under 
what  seamen  call  low  sail;  but  so  great  was  the  power  of 
the  wind,  that  her  white  outlines  were  seen  flying  past 
the  openings  of  the  verdure  with  the  velocity  of  a 
fast-traveling  horse — resembling  a  cloud  driving  in  the 
heavens. 

"That  cannot  be  Jasper, "  said  Pathfinder  in  disappoint 
ment;  for  he  did  not  recognize  the  cutter  of  his  friend  in 
the  swift-passing  object.  "No,  no,  the  lad  is  behind  the 
hour;  and  that  is  some  craft  which  the  Frenchers  have 
sent  to  aid  their  friends,  the  accursed  Mingoes. " 

"This  time  you  are  out  in  your  reckoning,  friend  Path 
finder,  if  you  never  were  before,"  returned  Cap  in  a 
manner  that  had  lost  none  of  its  dogmatism  by  the  criti 
cal  circumstances  in  which  they  were  placed.  "Fresh 
water  or  salt,  that  is  the  head  of  the  Scud's  mainsail,  for 
it  is  cut  with  a  smaller  gore  than  common;  and  then  you 
can  see  that  the  gaff  has  been  fished — quite  neatly  done, 
I  admit,  but  fished." 

"I  can  see  none  of  this,  I  confess,"  answered  Path 
finder,  to  whom  even  the  terms  of  his  companion  were 
Greek. 

"No!  Well,  I  own  that  surprises  me,  for  I  thought 
your  eyes  could  see  anything!  Now  to  me  nothing  is 
plainer  than  that  gore  and  that  fish;  and  I  must  say,  my 
honest  friend,  that  in  your  place  I  should  apprehend  that 
my  sight  was  beginning  to  fail." 

"If  Jasper  is  truly  coming,  I  shall  apprehend  but  little. 
We  can  make  good  the  block  against  the  whole  Mingo 
nation  for  the  next  eight  or  ten  hours;  and  with  Eau- 
douceto  cover  the  retreat,  I  shall  despair  of  nothing.  God 
send  that  the  lad  may  not  run  alongside  of  the  bank,  and 
fall  into  an  ambushment,  as  befell  the  sergeant!" 

"Ay,  there's  the  danger.  There  ought  to  have  been 
signals  concerted,  and  an  anchorage  ground  buoyed  out, 
and  even  a  quarantine  station  or  a  lazaretto  would  have 
been  useful,  could  we  have  made  these  Minks-ho  respect 


408  THE  PATHFINDER 

the  laws.  If  the  lad  fetches  up,  as  you  say,  anywhere  in 
the  neighborhood  of  this  island,  we  may  look  upon  the 
cutter  as  lost.  And,  after  all,  Master  Pathfinder,  ought 
we  not  to  set  down  this  same  Jasper  as  a  secret  ally  of 
the  French,  rather  than  as  a  friend  of  our  own?  I  know 
the  sergeant  views  the  matter  in  that  light;  and  I  must 
say  this  whole  affair  looks  like  treason." 

"We  shall  soon  know,  we  shall  soon  know,  Master  Cap; 
for  there,  indeed,  comes  the  cutter  clear  of  the  other 
island,  and  five  minutes  must  settle  the  matter.  It  would 
be  no  more  than  fair,  however,  if  we  could  give  the  boy 
some  sign  in  the  way  of  warning.  It  is  not  right  that 
he  should  fall  into  the  trap  without  a  notice  that  it  has 
been  laid." 

Anxiety  and  suspense,  notwithstanding,  prevented  either 
from  attempting  to  make  any  signal.  It  was  not  easy, 
truly,  to  see  how  it  could  be  done;  for  the  Scud  came 
foaming  through  the  channel,  on  the  weather  side  of  the 
island,  at  a  rate  that  scarcely  admitted  of  the  necessary 
time.  Nor  was  any  one  visible  on  her  deck  to  make  signs 
to;  even  her  helm  seemed  deserted,  though  her  course 
was  as  steady  as  her  progress  was  rapid. 

Cap  stood  in  silent  admiration  of  a  spectacle  so  unusual. 
But,  as  the  Scud  drew  nearer,  his  practised  eye  detected 
the  helm  in  play  by  means  of  tiller-ropes,  though  the 
person  who  steered  was  concealed.  As  the  cutter  had 
weather-boards  of  some  little  height,  the  mystery  was 
explained,  no  doubt  remaining  that  her  people  lay  behind 
the  latter,  in  order  to  be  protected  from  the  rifles  of  the 
enemy.  As  this  fact  showed  that  no  force  beyond  that  of 
the  small  crew  could  be  on  board,  Pathfinder  received  his 
companion's  explanation  with  an  ominous  shake  of  the 
head. 

"This  proves  that  the  Sarpent  has  not  reached  Oswego, ' ' 
said  he,  "and  that  we  are  not  to  expect  succor  from  the 
garrison.  I  hope  Lundie  has  not  taken  it  into  his  head 
to  displace  the  lad,  for  Jasper  Western  would  be  a  host 
of  himself  in  such  a  strait.  We  three,  Master  Cap,  ought 
to  make  a  manful  warfare;  you,  as  a  seaman,  to  keep  up 
the  intercourse  with  the  cutter;  Jasper,  as  a  laker  who 
knows  all  that  is  necessary  to  be  done  on  the  water;  and 


THE  PATHFINDER  409 

I,  with  gifts  that  are  as  good  as  any  among  the  Mingoes, 
let  me  be  what  I  may  in  other  particulars.  I  say  we  ought 
to  make  a  manful  fight  in  Mabel's  behalf." 

"That  we  ought,  and  that  we  will,"  answered  Cap 
heartily;  for  he  began  to  have  more  confidence  in  the 
security  of  his  scalp  now  that  he  saw  the  sun  again.  "I 
set  down  the  arrival  of  the  Scud  as  one  circumstance,  and 
the  chances  of  Oh-deuce's  honesty  as  another.  This  Jasper 
is  a  young  man  of  prudence,  you  find;  for  he  keeps  a  good 
offing,  and  seems  determined  to  know  how  matters  stand 
on  the  island  before  he  ventures  to  bring  up," 

"I  have  it!  I  have  it!"  exclaimed  Pathfinder,  with 
exultation.  "There  lies  the  canoe  of  the  Sarpent  on  the 
cutter's  deck;  and  the  chief  has  got  on  board,  and  no 
doubt  has  given  a  true  account  of  our  condition;  for,  un 
like  a  Mingo,  a  Delaware  is  sartain  to  get  a  story  right, 
or  to  hold  his  tongue." 

"That  canoe  may  not  belong  to  the  cutter,"  said  the 
captious  seaman.  "Oh-deuce  had  one  on  board  when  he 
sailed." 

"Very  true,  friend  Cap;  but  if  you  know  your  sails 
and  masts  by  your  gores  and  fishes,  I  know  my  canoes  and 
my  paths  by  frontier  knowledge.  If  you  can  see  new 
cloth  in  a  sail,  I  can  see  new  bark  in  a  canoe.  That  is 
the  boat  of  the  Sarpent,  and  the  noble  fellow  has  struck 
off  for  the  garrison  as  soon  as  he  found  the  block  be 
sieged,  has  fallen  in  with  the  Scud,  and,  after  telling  his 
story,  has  brought  the  cutter  down  here  to  see  what  can 
be  done.  The  Lord  grant  that  Jasper  Western  be  still  on 
board  her!" 

"Yes,  yes;  it  might  not  be  amiss;  for,  traitor  or  loyal, 
the  lad  has  a  handy  way  with  him  in  a  gale,  it  must  be 
owned." 

"And  in  coming  over  waterfalls!"  said  Pathfinder, 
nudging  the  ribs  of  his  companion  with  an  elbow,  and 
laughing  in  his  silent  but  hearty  manner.  "We  will  give 
the  boy  his  due,  though  he  scalps  us  all  with  his  own 
hand." 

The  Scud  was  now  so  near  that  Cap  made  no  reply. 
The  scene,  just  at  that  instant,  was  so  peculiar,  that  it 
merits  a  particular  description,  which  may  also  aid  the 


410  THE  PATHFINDER 

reader  in  forming  a  more  accurate  nature  of  the  picture 
we  wish  to  draw. 

The  gale  was  still  blowing  violently.  Many  of  the 
smaller  trees  bowed  their  tops,  as  if  ready  to  descend  to 
the  earth,  while  the  rushing  of  the  wind  through  the 
branches  of  the  groves  resembled  the  roar  of  distant 
chariots. 

The  air  was  filled  with  leaves,  which,  at  that  late  sea 
son,  were  readily  driven  from  their  stems,  and  flew  from 
island  to  island  like  flights  of  birds.  With  this  excep 
tion,  the  spot  seemed  silent  as  the  grave.  That  the  sav 
ages  still  remained,  was  to  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that 
their  canoes,  together  with  the  boats  of  the  55th,  lay  in 
a  group  in  the  little  cove  that  had  been  selected  as  a 
harbor.  Otherwise,  not  a  sign  of  their  presence  was  to 
be  detected.  Though  taken  entirely  by  surprise  by  the 
cutter,  the  sudden  return  of  which  was  altogether  un 
looked-for,  so  uniform  and  inbred  were  their  habits  of 
caution  while  on  the  warpath,  that  the  instant  an  alarm 
was  given  every  man  had  taken  to  his  cover  with  the  in 
stinct  and  cunning  of  a  fox  seeking  his  hole.  The  same 
stillness  reigned  in  the  blockhouse;  for  though  Pathfinder 
and  Cap  could  command  a  view  of  the  channel,  they  took 
the  precaution  necessary  to  lie  concealed.  The  unusual 
absence  of  anything  like  animal  life  on  board  the  Scud, 
too,  was  still  more  remarkable.  As  the  Indians  witnessed 
her  apparently  undirected  movements,  a  feeling  of  awe 
gained  a  footing  among  them,  and  some  of  the  boldest  of 
their  party  began  to  distrust  the  issue  of  an  expedition 
that  had  commenced  so  prosperously.  Even  Arrowhead, 
accustomed  as  he  was  to  intercourse  with  the  whites  on 
both  sides  of  the,lakes,  fancied  there  was  something  omi 
nous  in  the  appearance  of  this  unmanned  vessel,  and  he 
would  gladly  at  that  moment  have  been  landed  again  on 
the  main. 

In  the  meantime  the  progress  of  the  cutter  was  steady 
and  rapid.  She  held  her  way  mid-channel,  now  inclining 
to  the  gusts,  and  now  rising  again,  like  the  philosopher 
that  bends  to  the  calamities  of  life  to  resume  his  erect 
attitude  as  they  pass  away,  but  always  piling  the  water 
beneath  her  bows  in  foam.  Although  she  was  under  so 


THE  PATHFINDER  411 

very  short  canvas,  her  velocity  was  great,  and  there  could 
not  have  elapsed  ten  minutes  between  the  time  when  her 
sails  were  first  seen  glancing  past  the  trees  and  bushes  in 
the  distance  and  the  moment  when  she  was  abreast  of  the 
blockhouse.  Cap  and  Pathfinder  leaned  forward,  as  the 
cutter  came  beneath  their  eyrie,  eager  to  get  a  better 
view  of  her  deck,  when,  to  the  delight  of  both,  Jasper 
Eau-douce  sprang  upon  his  feet  and  gave  three  hearty 
cheers.  Regardless  of  all  risk,  Cap  leaped  upon  the  ram 
part  of  logs  and  returned  the  greeting,  cheer  for  cheer. 
Happily,  the  policy  of  the  enemy  saved  the  latter;  for 
they  still  lay  quiet,  not  a  rifle  being  discharged.  On  the 
other  hand,  Pathfinder  kept  in  view  the  useful,  utterly 
disregarding  the  mere  dramatic  part  of  warfare.  The 
moment  he  beheld  his  friend  Jasper,  he  called  out  to  him 
with  stentorian  lungs: 

"Stand  by  us,  lad,  and  the  day's  our  own!  Give  'em  a 
grist  in  yonder  bushes,  and  you'll  put  'em  up  like  part 
ridges." 

Part  of  this  reached  Jasper's  ears,  but  most  was  borne 
off  to  leeward  on  the  wings  of  the  wind.  By  the  time 
this  was  said,  the  Scud  had  driven  past,  and  in  the  next 
moment  she  was  hid  from  view  by  the  grove  in  which  the 
blockhouse  was  partially  concealed. 

Two  anxious  minutes  succeeded;  but,  at  the  expiration 
of  that  brief  space,  the  sails  were  again  gleaming  through 
the  trees,  Jasper  having  wore,  jibed,  and  hauled  up  under 
the  lee  of  the  island  on  the  other  tack.  The  wind  was 
free  enough,  as  has  been  already  explained,  to  admit  of 
this  maneuver;  and  the  cutter,  catch  ing  the  cur  rent  under 
her  lee  bow,  was  breasted  up  to  her  course  in  a  way  that 
showed  she  would  come  out  to  windward  of  the  island 
again  without  any  difficulty.  This  whole  evolution  was 
made  with  the  greatest  facility,  not  a  sheet  being  touched, 
the  sails  trimming  themselves,  the  rudder  alone  control 
ling  the  admirable  machine.  The  object  appeared  to  be 
a  reconnaissance.  When,  however,  the  Scud  had  made 
the  circuit  of  the  entire  island,  and  had  again  got  her 
weatherly  position  in  the  channel  by  which  »he  had  first 
approached,  her  helm  was  put  down,  and  she  tacked.  The 
noise  of  the  mainsail  flapping  when  it  filled,  lose-reefed 


412  THE  PATHFINDER 

as  it  was,  sounded  like  the  report  of  a  gun,  and  Cap 
trembled  lest  the  seams  should  open. 

"His  Majesty  gives  good  canvas,  it  must  be  owned," 
muttered  the  old  seaman;  "and  it  must  be  owned,  too, 
that  boy  handles  his  boat  as  if  he  were  thoroughly  bred ! 
D —  -  me,  Master  Pathfinder,  if  I  believe,  after  all  that 
has  been  reported  in  the  matter,  that  this  Mister  Oh- 
deuce  got  his  trade  on  this  bit  of  fresh  water." 

"He  did;  yes,  he  did.  He  never  saw  the  ocean,  and 
has  come  by  his  calling  altogether  up  here  on  Ontario.  I 
have  often  thought  he  has  a  nat'ral  gift  in  the  way  of 
schooners  and  sloops,  and  have  respected  him  accordingly. 
As  for  treason  and  lying  and  black-hearted  vices,  friend 
Cap,  Jasper  Western  is  as  free  as  the  most  virtuousest  of 
the  Delaware  warriors;  and  if  you  crave  to  see  a  truly 
honest  man,  you  must  go  among  that  tribe  to  discover 
him." 

"There  he  comes  round!"  exclaimed  the  delighted  Cap, 
the  Scud  at  this  moment  filling  on  her  original  tack;  "and 
now  we  shall  see  what  the  boy  would  be  at;  he  cannot 
mean  to  keep  running  up  and  down  these  passages,  like  a 
girl  footing  it  through  a  country-dance." 

The  Scud  now  kept  so  much  away,  that  for  a  moment 
the  two  observers  on  the  blockhouse  feared  Jasper  meant 
to  come-to;  and  the  savages,  in  their  lairs,  gleamed  out 
upon  her  with  the  sort  of  exultation  that  the  crouching 
tiger  may  be  supposed  to  feel  as  he  sees  his  unconscious 
victim  approach  his  bed.  But  Jasper  had  no  such  inten 
tion;  familiar  with  the  shore,  and  acquainted  with  the 
depth  of  water  on  every  part  of  the  island,  he  well  knew 
that  the  Scud  might  be  run  against  the  bank  with  impun 
ity,  and  he  ventured  fearlessly  so  near,  that,  as  he  passed 
through  the  little  cove,  he  swept  the  two  boats  of  the 
soldiers  from  their  fastenings  and  forced  them  out  into 
the  channel,  towing  them  with  the  cutter.  As  all  the 
canoes  were  fastened  to  the  two  Dunham  boats,  by  this 
bold  and  successful  attempt  the  savages  were  at  once 
deprived  of  the  means  of  quitting  the  island,  unless  by 
swimming,  and  they  appeared  to  be  instantly  aware  of  the 
very  important  fact.  Rising  in  a  body,  they  filled  the 
air  with  yells,  and  poured  in  a  harmless  fire.  While  up 


THE  PATHFINDER  413 

in  this  unguarded  manner,  two  rifles  were  discharged  by 
their  adversaries.  One  came  from  the  summit  of  the 
block,  and  an  Iroquois  fell  dead  in  his  tracks,  shot  through 
the  brain.  The  other  came  from  the  Scud.  The  last  was 
the  piece  of  the  Delaware,  but,  less  true  than  that  of  his 
friend,  it  only  maimed  an  enemy  for  life.  The  people  of 
the  Scud  shouted,  and  the  savages  sank  again,  to  a  man, 
as  if  it  might  be  into  the  earth. 

'  'That  was  the  Sarpent's  voice, ' '  said  Pathfinder,  as  soon 
as  the  second  piece  was  discharged.  "I  know  the  crack 
of  his  rifle  as  well  as  I  do  that  of  Killdeer.  'Tis  a  good 
barrel,  though  not  sartain  death.  Well,  well,  with  Chin- 
gachgook  and  Jasper  on  the  water,  and  you  and  I  in  the 
block,  friend  Cap,  it  will  be  hard  if  we  don't  teach  these 
Mingo  scamps  the  lationality  of  a  fight." 

All  this  time  the  Scud  was  in  motion.  As  soon  as  she 
had  reached  the  end  of  the  island,  Jasper  sent  his  prizes 
adrift;  and  as  they  went  down  before  the  wind  until  they 
stranded  on  a  point  half  a  mile  to  leeward.  He  then 
wore,  and  came  stemming  the  current  again,  through  the 
other  passage.  Those  on  the  summit  of  the  block  could 
now  perceive  that  something  was  in  agitation  on  the  deck 
of  the  Scud;  and,  to  their  great  delight,  just  as  the  cutter 
came  abreast  of  the  principal  cove,  on  the  spot  where 
most  of  the  enemy  lay,  the  howitzer  which  composed  her 
sole  armament  was  unmasked,  and  a  shower  of  case-shot 
was  sent  hissing  into  the  bushes.  A  bevy  of  quail  would 
not  have  risen  quicker  than  this  unexpected  discharge  of 
iron  hail  put  up  the  Iroquois;  when  a  second  savage  fell 
by  a  messenger  sent  from  Killdeer,  and  another  went 
limping  away  by  a  visit  from  the  rifle  of  Chingachgook. 
New  covers  were  immediately  found,  however;  and  each 
party  seemed  to  prepare  for  the  renewal  of  the  strife  in 
another  form.  But  the  appearance  of  June,  bearing  a 
white  flag,  and  accompanied  by  the  French  officer  and 
Muir,  stayed  the  hands  of  all,  and  was  the  forerunner  of 
another  parley. 

The  negotiation  that  followed  was  held  beneath  the 
blockhouse;  and  so  near  it  as  at  once  to  put  those  who 
were  uncovered  completely  at  the  mercy  of  Pathfinder's 
unerring  aim.  Jasper  anchored  directly  abeam;  and  the 


414  THE  PATHFINDER 

howitzer,  too,  was  kept  trained  upon  the  negotiators;  so 
that  the  besieged  and  their  friends,  with  the  exception  of 
the  man  who  held  the  match,  had  no  hesitation  about  ex 
posing  their  persons.  Chingachgook  alone  lay  in  ambush; 
more,  however,  from  habit  than  distrust. 

"You've  triumphed,  Pathfinder,"  called  out  the  quar 
termaster,  "and  Captain  Sanglier  has  come  himself  to 
offer  terms.  You'll  no'  be  denying  a  brave  enemy  hon 
orable  retreat,  when  he  has  fought  ye  fairly,  and  done  all 
the  credit  he  could  to  king  and  country.  Ye  are  too  loyal 
a  subject  yourself  to  visit  loyalty  and  fidelity  with  a  heavy 
judgment.  I  am  authorized  to  offer,  on  the  part  of  the 
enemy,  an  evacuation  of  the  island,  a  mutual  exchange  of 
prisoners,  and  a  restoration  of  scalps.  In  the  absence  of 
baggage  and  artillery,  little  more  can  be  done. ' ' 

As  the  conversation  was  necessarily  carried  on  in  a  high 
key,  both  on  account  of  the  wind  and  of  the  distance,  all 
that  was  said  was  heard  equally  by  those  in  the  block  and 
those  in  the  cutter. 

"What  do  you  say  to  that,  Jasper?"  called  out  Path 
finder.  "You  hear  the  proposal.  Shall  we  let  the  vaga 
bonds  go?  or  shall  we  mark  them,  as  they  mark  their 
sheep  in  the  settlements,  that  we  may  know  them  again?" 

"What  has  befallen  Mabel  Dunham?"  demanded  the 
young  man,  with  a  frown  on  his  handsome  face,  that  was 
visible  even  to  those  on  the  block.  "If  a  hair  of  her  head 
has  been  touched,  it  will  go  hard  with  the  whole  Iroquois 
tribe." 

"Nay,  nay,  she  is  safe  below,  nursing  a  dying  parent, 
as  becomes  her  sex.  We  owe  no  grudge  on  account  of  the 
sergeant's  hurt,  which  comes  of  lawful  warfare;  and  as 
for  Mabel— 

"She  is  here!"  exclaimed  the  girl  herself,  who  had 
mounted  to  the  roof  the  moment  she  found  the  direction 

things  were  taking "she  is  here!  and,  in  the  name  of 

our  holy  religion,  and  of  that  God  whom  we  profess  to 
worship  in  common,  let  there  be  no  more  bloodshed! 
Enough  has  been  spilt  already;  and  if  these  men  will  go 
away,  Pathfinder — if  they  will  depart  peaceably,  Jasper — 
oh,  do  not  detain  one  of  them !  My  poor  father  is  ap 
proaching  his  end,  and  it  were  better  that  he  should  draw 
his  last  breath  in  peace  with  the  world.  Go,  go,  French- 


THE  PATHFINDER  415 

men  and  Indians!  we  are  no  longer  your  enemies,  and  will 
harm  none  of  you. ' ' 

"Tut,  tut,  Magnet!"  put  in  Cap;  "this  sounds  religious 
perhaps,  or  like  a  book  of  poetry;  but  it  does  not  sound 
like  common  sense.  The  enemy  is  just  ready  to  strike; 
Jasper  is  anchored  with  his  broadside  to  bear,  and,  no 
doubt,  with  springs  on  his  cables;  Pathfinder's  eye  and 
hand  are  as  true  as  the  needle;  and  we  shall  get  prize- 
money,  head-money,  and  honor  in  the  bargain,  if  you  will 
not  interfere  for  the  next  half  hour." 

"Well,"  said  Pathfinder,  "I  incline  to  Mabel's  way  of 
thinking.  There  has  been  enough  blood  shed  to  answer 
our  purpose  and  to  sarve  the  king;  and  as  for  honor,  in  that 
meaning,  it  will  do  better  for  young  ensigns  and  recruits 
than  for  cool-headed,  obsarvant  Christian  men.  There  is 
honor  in  doing  what's  right,  and  unhonor  in  doing  what's 
wrong;  and  I  think  it  wrong  to  take  the  life  even  of  a 
Mingo,  without  a  useful  end  in  view,  I  do;  and  right  to 
hear  reason  at  all  times.  So,  Lieutenant  Muir,  let  us 
know  what  your  friends  the  Frenchers  and  Indians  have 
to  say  for  themselves. ' ' 

"My  friends!"  said  Muir,  starting;  "you'll  no'  be 
calling  the  king's  enemies  my  friends,  Pathfinder,  because 
the  fortune  of  war  has  thrown  me  into  their  hands?  Some 
of  the  greatest  warriors,  both  of  ancient  and  modern 
times,  have  been  prisoners  of  war;  and  yon  is  Master  Cap, 
who  can  testify  whether  we  did  not  do  all  that  men  could 
devise  to  escape  the  calamity." 

"Ay,  ay,"  drily  answered  Cap;  "escape  is  the  proper 
word.  We  ran  below  and  hid  ourselves,  and  so  discreetly, 
that  we  might  have  remained  in  the  hole  to  this  hour,  had 
it  not  been  for  the  necessity  of  restowing  the  bread  lockers. 
You  burrowed  on  that  occasion,  quartermaster,  as  handily 
as  a  fox;  and  how  the  devil  you  knew  so  well  where  to 
find  the  spot  is  a  matter  of  wonder  to  me.  A  regular 
skulk  on  board  ship  does  not  trail  aft  more  readily  when 
the  jib  is  to  be  stowed,  than  you  went  into  that  same  hole. ' ' 

"And  did  ye  no'  follow?  There  are  moments  in  a 
man's  life  when  reason  ascends  to  instinct — 

"And  men  descend  into  holes, "  interrupted  Cap,  laugh 
ing  in  his  boisterous  way,  while  Pathfinder  chimed  in,  in 
his  peculiar  manner.  Even  Jasper, though  still  filled  with 


416  THE  PATHFINDER 

concern  for  Mabel,  was  obliged  to  smile.  "They  say  the 
devil  wouldn't  make  a  sailor  if  he  didn't  look  aloft;  and 
now  it  seems  he'll  not  make  a  soldier  if  he  doesn't  look 
below!" 

This  burst  of  merriment,  though  it  was  anything  but 
agreeable  to  Muir,  contributed  largely  towards  keeping 
the  peace.  Cap  fancied  he  had  said  a  thing  much  better 
than  common;  and  that  disposed  him  to  yield  his  own 
opinion  on  the  main  point,  so  long  as  he  got  the  good 
opinion  of  his  companions  on  his  novel  claim  to  be  a  wit. 

After  a  short  discussion,  all  the  savages  on  the  island 
were  collected  in  a  body,  without  arms,  at  the  distance  of 
a  hundred  yards  from  the  block,  and  under  the  gun  of  the 
Scud  ;  while  Pathfinder  descended  to  the  door  of  the  block 
house  and  settled  the  terms  on  which  the  island  was  to  be 
finally  evacuated  by  the  enemy.  Considering  all  the  cir 
cumstances,  the  conditions  were  not  very  discreditable  to 
either  party.  The  Indians  were  compelled  to  give  up  all 
their  arms,  even  to  their  knives  and  tomahawks,  as  a 
measure  of  precaution,  their  force  being  still  quadruple 
that  of  their  foes.  The  French  officer,  Monsieur  Sanglier, 
as  he  was  usually  styled,  and  chose  to  call  himself,  remon 
strated  against  this  act  as  one  likely  to  reflect  more  dis 
credit  on  his  command  than  any  other  part  of  the  affair; 
but  Pathfinder,  who  had  witnessed  one  or  two  Indian 
massacres,  and  knew  how  valueless  pledges  became  when 
put  in  opposition  to  interest  where  a  savage  was  concerned 
was  obdurate.  The  second  stipulation  was  of  nearly  the 
same  importance.  It  compelled  Captain  Sanglier  to  give 
up  all  his  prisoners,  who  had  been  kept  well  guarded  in 
the  very  hole  or  cave  in  which  Cap  and  Muir  had  taken 
refuge.  When  these  men  were  produced,  four  of  them 
were  found  to  be  unhurt;  they  had  fallen  merely  to  save 
their  lives,  a  common  artifice  in  that  species  of  warfare; 
and  of  the  remainder,  two  were  so  slightly  injured  as  not 
to  be  unfit  for  service.  As  they  brought  their  muskets 
with  them,  this  addition  to  his  force  immediately  put 
Pathfinder  at  his  ease;  for,  having  collected  all  the  arms 
of  the  enemy  in  the  blockhouse,  he  directed  these  men  to 
take  possession  of  the  building,  stationing  a  regular  sen 
tinel  at  the  door.  The  remainder  of  the  soldiers  were 


THE  PATHFINDER  417 

dead,  the  badly  wounded  having  been  instantly  despatched 
in  order  to  obtain  the  much-coveted  scalps. 

As  soon  as  Jasper  was  made  acquainted  with  the  terms, 
and  the  preliminaries  had  been  so  far  observed  as  to  render 
it  safe  for  him  to  be  absent,  he  got  the  Scud  under  weigh; 
and,  running  down  to  the  point  where  the  boats  had 
stranded,  he  took  them  in  tow  again,  and,  making  a  few 
stretches,  brought  them  into  the  leeward  passage.  Here 
all  the  savages  instantly  embarked,  when  Jasper  took  the 
boats  in  tow  a  third  time,  and,  running  off  before  the 
wind,  he  soon  set  them  adrift  full  a  mile  to  leeward  of 
the  island.  The  Indians  were  furnished  with  but  a  single 
oar  in  each  boat  to  steer  with,  the  young  sailor  well  know 
ing  that  by  keeping  before  the  wind  they  would  land  on 
the  shores  of  Canada  in  the  course  of  the  morning. 

Captain  Sanglier,  Arrowhead,  and  June  alone  remained, 
when  this  disposition  had  been  made  of  the  rest  of  the 
party;  the  former  having  certain  papers  to  draw  up  and 
sign  with  Lieutenant  Muir,  who  in  his  eyes  possessed  the 
virtues  which  are  attached  to  a  commission;  and  the  latter 
preferring,  for  reasons  of  his  own,  not  to  depart  in  com 
pany  with  his  late  friends,  the  Iroquois.  Canoes  were 
detained  for  the  departure  of  these  three,  when  the  proper 
moment  should  arrive. 

In  the  meantime,  or  while  the  Scud  was  running  down 
with  the  boats  in  tow,  Pathfinder  and  Cap,  aided  by  proper 
assistants,  busied  themselves  with  preparing  a  breakfast; 
most  of  the  party  not  having  eaten  for  four-and-twenty 
hours.  The  brief  space  that  passed  in  this  manner  before 
the  Scud  came- to  again  was  little  interrupted  by  discourse, 
though  Pathfinder  found  leisure  to  pay  a  visit  to  the  ser 
geant,  to  say  a  few  friendly  words  to  Mabel,  and  to  give 
such  directions  as  he  thought  might  smooth  the  passage 
of  the  dying  man.  As  for  Mabel  herself,  he  insisted  on 
her  taking  some  light  refreshment;  and,  there  no  longer 
existing  any  motive  for  keeping  it  there,  he  had  the  guard 
removed  from  the  block,  in  order  that  the  daughter  might 
kave  no  impediment  to  her  attentions  to  her  father.  These 
little  arrangements  completed,  our  hero  returned  to  the 
fire,  around  which  he  found  all  the  remainder  of  tire  party 
assembled,  including  Jasper. 
27 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

"  You  saw  but  sorrow  in  its  waning  form; 
A  working  sea  remaining  from  a  storm, 
Where  now  the  weary  waves  roll  o'er  the  deep, 
And  faintly  murmer  ere  they  fall  asleep." 

— DRYDEN. 

MEN  accustomed  to  a  warfare  like  that  we  have  been 
describing  are  not  apt  to  be  much  under  he  influence  of 
the  tender  feelings  while  still  in  the  field.  Notwithstand 
ing  their  habits,  however,  more  than  one  heart  was  with 
Mabel  in  the  block,  while  the  incidents  we  are  about  to 
relate  where  in  the  course  of  occurrence;  and  even  the 
indispensable  meal  was  less  relished  by  the  hardiest  of  the 
soldiers  than  it  might  have  been  had  not  the  sergeant 
been  so  near  his  end. 

As  Pathfinder  returned  from  the  block,  he  was  met  by 
Muir,  who  led  him  aside  in  order  to  hold  a  private  dis 
course.  The  manner  of  the  quartermaster  had  that  air  of 
superrogatory  courtesy  about  it  which  almost  invariably 
denotes  artifice;  for,  while  physiognomy  and  phrenology 
are  but  lame  sciences  at  the  best,  and  perhaps  lead  to  as 
many  false  as  right  conclusions,  we  hold  that  there  is  no 
more  infallible  evidence  of  insincerity  of  purpose,  short  of 
overt  acts,  than  a  face  that  smiles  when  there  is  no  occa 
sion,  and  the  tongue  that  is  out  of  measure  smooth.  Muir 
had  much  of  this  manner  in  common,  mingled  with  an 
apparent  frankness  that  his  Scottish  intonation  of  voice, 
Scottish  accent,  and  Scottish  modes  of  expression  were 
singularly  adapted  to  sustain.  He  owed  his  preferment, 
indeed,  to  a  long-exercised  deference  to  Lundie  and  his 
family;  for,  while  the  Major  himself  was  much  too  acute 
to  be  the  dupe  of  one  so  much  his  inferior  in  real  talents 
and  attainments,  most  persons  are  accustomed  to  make 
liberal  concessions  to  the  flatterer,  even  while  they  dis 
trust  his  truth  and  are  perfectly  aware  of  his  motives. 
On  the  present  occasion,  the  contest  in  skill  was  between 

418 


THE  PATHFINDER  419 

two  men  as  completely  the  opposites  of  each  other  in  all 
the  leading  essentials  of  character  as  very  well  could  be. 
Pathfinder  was  as  simple  as  the  quartermaster  was  prac 
tised;  he  was  as  sincere  as  the  other  was  false,  and  as 
direct  as  the  last  was  tortuous.  Both  were  cool  and  cal 
culating,  and  both  were  brave,  though  in  different  modes 
and  degrees;  Muir  never  exposing  his  person  except  for 
effect,  while  the  guide  included  fear  among  the  rational 
passions,  or  as  a  sensation  to  be  deferred  to  only  when 
good  might  come  of  it. 

"My  dearest  friend,"  Muir  commenced,  "for  ye'll  be 
dearer  to  us  all,  by  seventy  and  sevenfold,  after  your  late 
conduct  than  ever  ye  were — ye've  just  established  your 
self  in  this  late  transaction.  It's  true  that  they'll  not 
be  making  ye  a  commissioned  officer,  for  that  species  of 
prefairment  is  not  much  in  your  line,  nor  much  in  your 
wishes,  I'm  thinking;  but  as  a  guide,  and  a  counsellor, 
and  a  loyal  subject,  and  an  expert  marksman,  yer  renown 
may  be  said  to  be  full.  I  doubt  if  the  commander-in-chief 
will  carry  away  with  him  from  America  as  much  credit 
as  will  fall  to  yer  share,  and  ye  ought  just  to  set  down  in 
content  and  enjoy  yoursal'  for  the  remainder  of  yer  days. 
Get  married,  man,  without  dely,  and  look  to  your  precious 
happiness;  for  ye've  no  occasion  to  look  any  longer  to 
your  glory.  Take  Mabel  Dunham,  for  Heaven's  sake,  to 
your  bosom,  and  ye'll  have  both  a  bonnie  bride  and  a 
bonnie  reputation." 

"Why,  quartermaster,  this  is  a  new  piece  of  advice  to 
come  from  your  mouth.  They've  told  me  I  had  a  rival 
in  you." 

"And  ye  had,  man;  and  a  formidable  one,  too,  I  can 
tell  you — one  that  has  never  yet  courted  in  vain,  and  yet 
one  that  has  courted  five  times.  Lundie  twits  me  with 
four,  and  I  deny  the  charge;  but  he  little  thinks  the  truth 
would  outdo  even  his  arithmetic.  Yes,  yes,  ye  had  a 
rival,  Pathfinder;  but  ye've  one  no  longer  in  me.  Ye've 
my  hearty  wishes  for  yer  success  writh  Mabel ;  and  were 
the  honest  sergeant  likely  to  survive,  ye  might  rely  on 
my  good  word  with  him,  too,  for  a  certainty." 

"I  feel  your  friendship,  quartermaster,  I  feel  your 
friendship,  though  I  have  no  great  need  of  any  favor  with 


420  THE  PATHFINDER 

Sergeant  Dunham,  who  has  long  been  my  friend.  I  believe 
we  may  look  upon  the  matter  to  be  as  sartain  as  most 
things  in  war  time;  for,  Mabel  and  her  father  consenting, 
the  whole  55th  couldn't  very  well  put  a  stop  to  it.  Ah's 
me!  the  poor  father  will  scarcely  live  to  see  what  his 
heart  has  so  long  been  set  upon." 

"But  he'll  have  the  consolation  of  knowing  it  will  come 
to  pass,  in  dying.  Oh,  it's  a  great  relief,  Pathfinder,  for 
the  parting  spirit  to  feel  certain  that  the  beloved  ones 
left  behind  will  be  well  provided  for  after  its  departure. 
All  the  Mistress  Muirs  have  duly  expressed  that  sentiment 
with  their  dying  breaths." 

"All  your  wives,  quartermaster,  have  been  likely  to 
feel  this  consolation." 

"Out  upon  ye,  man!  I'd  no'  thought  ye  such  a  wag. 
Well,  well,  pleasant  words  make  no  heart-burnings  be 
tween  auld  fri'nds.  If  I  cannot  espouse  Mabel,  ye'll  no 
object  to  my  esteeming  her,  and  speaking  well  of  her,  and 
of  yoursal',  too,  on  all  suitable  occasions  and  in  all  com 
panies.  But,  Pathfinder,  ye'll  easily  understan'  that  a 
poor  deevil  who  loses  such  a  bride  will  probably  stand  in 
need  of  some  consolation?" 

"Quite  likely,  quite  likely,  quartermaster,"  returned 
the  simple-minded  guide;  "I  know  the  loss  of  Mabel 
would  be  found  heavy  to  be  borne  by  myself.  It  may 
bear  hard  on  your  feelings  to  see  us  married;  but  the 
death  of  the  sergeant  will  be  likely  to  put  it  off,  and 
you'll  have  time  to  think  more  manfully  of  it,  you 
will." 

"I'll  bear  up  against  it;  yes,  I'll  bear  up  against  it, 
though  my  heart-strings  crack!  and  ye  might  help  me, 
man,  by  giving  me  something  to  do.  Ye'll  understand 
that  this  expedition  has  been  of  a  very  peculiar  nature; 
for  here  am  I,  bearing  the  king's  commission,  just  a 
volunteer,  as  it  might  be;  while  a  mere  orderly  has  had 
the  command.  I've  submitted  for  various  reasons,  though 
my  blood  has  boiled  to  be  in  authority,  while  ye  war' 
battling  for  the  honor  of  the  country  and  his  Majesty's 
rights— 

"Quartermaster,"  interrupted  the  guide,  "you  fell  so 
early  into  the  enemy's  hands  that  your  conscience  ought 


THE  PATHFINDER  421 

to  be  easily  satisfied  on  that  score;  so  take  my  advice, 
and  say  nothing  about  it." 

"That's  just  my  opinion,  Pathfinder;  we'll  all  say  noth 
ing  about  it.  Sergeant  Dunham  is  hors  de  combat — 

"Anan?"  said  the  guide. 

"Why,  the  sergeant  can  command  no  longer,  and  it 
will  hardly  do  to  leave  a  corporal  at  the  head  of  a  victor 
ious  party  like  this;  for  flowers  that  will  bloom  in  a  gar 
den  will  die  on  a  heath;  and  I  was  just  thinking  I  would 
claim  the  authority  that  belongs  to  one  who  holds  a  lieu 
tenant's  commission.  As  for  the  men,  they'll  no  dare  to 
raise  any  objaction;  and  as  for  yoursal',  my  dear  friend, 
now  that  ye've  so  much  honor,  and  Mabel,  and  the  con 
sciousness  of  having  done  yer  duty,  which  is  more  precious 
than  all,  I  expect  to  find  an  ally  rather  than  one  to  oppose 
the  plan." 

"As  for  commanding  the  soldiers  of  the  55th,  lieu 
tenant,  it  is  your  right,  I  suppose,  and  no  one  here  will 
be  likely  to  gainsay  it;  though  you've  been  a  prisoner  of 
war,  and  there  are  men  who  might  stand  out  ag'in  giving 
up  their  authority  to  a  prisoner  released  by  their  own 
deeds.  Still  no  one  here  will  be  likely  to  say  anything 
hostile  to  your  wishes." 

"That's  just  it,  Pathfinder;  and  when  I  come  to  draw 
up  the  report  of  our  success  against  the  boats,  and  the 
defense  of  the  block,  together  with  the  general  operations, 
including  the  capitulation,  ye'll  no'  find  any  omission  of 
your  claims  and  merits." 

"Tut for  my  claims  and  merits,  quartermaster!  Lundie 
knows  what  I  am  in  the  forest  and  what  I  am  in  the  fort; 
and  the  general  knows  better  than  he.  No  fear  of  me; 
tell  your  own  story,  only  taking  care  to  do  justice  by 
Mabel's  father,  who,  in  one  sense,  is  the  commanding 
officer  at  this  very  moment." 

Muir  expressed  his  entire  satisfaction  with  this  arrange 
ment,  as  well  as  his  determination  to  do  justice  by  all, 
when  the  two  went  to  the  group  assembled  round  the  fire. 
Here  the  quartermaster  began,  for  the  first  time  since 
leaving  Oswego,  to  assume  some  of  the  authority  that 
might  properly  be  supposed  to  belong  to  his  rank.  Tak 
ing  the  remaining  corporal  aside,  he  distinctly  told  that 


422  THE  PATHFINDER 

functionary  that  he  must  in  future  be  regarded  as  one 
holding  the  king's  commission,  and  directed  him  to  ac 
quaint  his  subordinates  with  the  new  state  of  things. 
This  change  in  the  dynasty  was  effected  without  any  of 
the  usual  symptoms  of  a  revolution;  for,  as  all  well  under 
stood  the  lieutenant's  legal  claims  to  command,  no  one 
felt  disposed  to  dispute  his  orders.  For  reasons  best 
known  to  themselves,  Lundie  and  the  quartermaster  had 
originally  made  a  different  disposition;  and  now,  for 
reasons  of  his  own,  the  latter  had  seen  fit  to  change  it. 
This  was  reasoning  enough  for  soldiers,  though  the  hurt 
received  by  Sergeant  Dunham  would  have  sufficiently  ex 
plained  the  circumstance  had  an  explanation  been  required. 
All  this  time  Captain  Sanglier  was  looking  after  his 
own  breakfast  with  the  resignation  of  a  philosopher,  the 
coolness  of  a  veteran,  the  ingenuity  and  science  of  a 
Frenchman,  and  the  voracity  of  an  ostrich.  This  person 
had  now  been  in  the  colony  some  thirty  years,  having  left 
France  in  some  such  situation  in  his  own  army  as  Muir 
filled  in  the  55th.  An  iron  constitution,  perfect  obduracy 
of  feeling,  a  certain  address  well  suited  to  manage  sav 
ages,  and  an  indomitable  courage,  had  early  pointed  him 
out  to  the  commander-in-chief  as  a  suitable  agent  to  be 
employed  in  directing  the  military  operations  of  his  Indian 
allies.  In  this  capacity,  then,  he  had  risen  to  the  titular 
rank  of  captain;  and  with  his  promotion  had  acquired  a 
portion  of  the  habits  and  opinions  of  his  associates  with  a 
facility  and  an  adaptation  of  self  which  are  thought  in 
America  to  be  peculiar  to  his  countrymen.  He  had  often 
led  parties  of  the  Iroquois  in  their  predatory  expeditions; 
and  his  conduct  on  such  occasions  exhibited  the  contradic 
tory  results  of  both  alleviating  the  misery  produced  by 
this  species  of  warfare,  and  of  augmenting  it  by  the 
broader  views  and  greater  resources  of  civilization.  In 
other  words,  he  planned  enterprises  that,  in  their  impor 
tance  and  consequences,  much  exceeded  the  usual  policy 
of  the  Indians,  and  then  stepped  in  to  lessen  some  of  the 
evils  of  his  own  creating.  In  short,  he  was  an  adventurer 
whom  circumstances  had  thrown  into  a  situation  where 
the  callous  qualities  of  men  of  his  class  might  readily 
show  themselves  for  good  or  for  evil ;  and  he  was  not  of 


THE  PATHFINDER  423 

a  character  to  baffle  fortune  by  any  ill-timed  squeamish- 
ness  on  the  score  of  early  impressions,  or  to  trifle  with 
her  liberality  by  unnecessarily  provoking  her  frowns 
through  wanton  cruelty.  Still,  as  his  name  was  unavoid 
ably  connected  with  many  of  the  excesses  committed  by 
his  parties,  he  was  generally  considered  in  the  American 
provinces  a  wretch  who  delighted  in  bloodshed,  and  who 
found  his  greatest  happiness  in  tormenting  the  helpless 
and  the  innocent;  and  the  name  of  Sanglier,  which  was  a 
sobriquet  of  his  own  adopting,  or  of  Flint  Heart,  as  he 
was  usually  termed  on  the  borders,  had  got  to  be  as  ter 
rible  to  the  women  and  children  of  that  part  of  the  country 
as  those  of  Butler  and  Brandt  became  at  a  later  day. 

The  meeting  between  Pathfinder  and  Sanglier  bore  some 
resemblance  to  that  celebrated  interview  between  Welling 
ton  and  Blucher  which  has  been  so  often  and  graphically 
told.  It  took  place  at  the  fire;  and  the  parties  stood 
earnestly  regarding  each  other  for  more  than  a  minute 
without  speaking.  Each  felt  that  in  the  other  he  saw  a 
formidable  foe;  and  each  felt,  while  he  ought  to  treat  the 
other  with  the  manly  liberality  due  to  a  warrior,  that 
there  was  little  in  common  between  them  in  the  way  of 
character  as  well  as  of  interests.  One  served  for  money 
and  preferment;  the  other,  because  his  life  had  been  cast 
in  the  wilderness,  and  the  land  of  his  birth  needed  his  arm 
and  experience.  The  desire  of  rising  above  his  present 
situation  never  disturbed  the  tranquillity  of  Pathfinder; 
nor  had  he  ever  known  an  ambitious  thought,  as  ambition 
usually  betrays  itself,  until  he  became  acquainted  with 
Mabel.  Since  then,  indeed,  distrust  of  himself,  reverence 
for  her,  and  the  wish  to  place  her  in  a  situation  above 
that  which  he  then  filled,  had  caused  him  some  uneasy 
moments;  but  the  directness  and  simplicity  of  his  char 
acter  had  early  afforded  the  required  relief;  and  he  soon 
came  to  feel  that  the  woman  who  would  not  hesitate  to 
accept  him  for  her  husband  would  not  scruple  to  share  his 
fortunes,  however  humble.  He  respected  Sanglier  as  a 
brave  warrior;  and  he  had  far  too  much  of  that  liberality 
which  is  the  result  of  practical  knowledge  to  believe  half 
of  what  he  had  heard  to  his  prejudice,  for  the  most  bigoted 
and  illiberal  on  every  subject  are  usually  those  who  know 


424  THE  PATHFINDER 

nothing  about  it;  but  he  could  not  approve  of  his  selfish 
ness,  cold-blooded  calculations,  and  least  of  all  of  the 
manner  in  which  he  forgot  his  "white  gifts,"  to  adopt 
those  that  were  purely  "red."  On  the  other  hand,  Path 
finder  was  a  riddle  to  Captain  Sanglier.  The  latter  could 
not  comprehend  the  other's  motives;  he  had  often  heard 
of  his  disinterestedness,  justice,  and  truth;  and  in  several 
instances  they  had  led  him  into  grave  errors,  on  that 
principle  by  which  a  frank  and  open-mouthed  diplomatist 
is  said  to  keep  his  secrets  better  than  one  that  is  close- 
mouthed  and  wily. 

After  the  two  heroes  had  gazed  at  each  other  in  the 
manner  mentioned,  Monsieur  Sanglier  touched  his  cap;  for 
the  rudeness  of  a  border  life  had  not  entirely  destroyed 
the  courtesy  of  manner  he  had  acquired  in  youth,  nor 
extinguished  that  appearance  of  bonhomie  which  seems 
inbred  in  a  Frenchman. 

"Monsieur  le  Pathfinder,"  said  he,  with  a  very  decided 
accent,  though  with  a  friendly  smile,  "un  militaire  honor 
le  courage,  et  la  loyaute.  You  speak  Iroquois?" 

"Ay,  I  understand  the  language  of  the  riptyles,  and  can 
get  along  with  it  if  there's  occasion,"  returned  the  literal 
and  truth-telling  guide;  "but  it's  neither  a  tongue  nor  a 
tribe  co  my  taste.  Wherever  you  find  the  Mingo  blood, 
in  my  opinion,  Master  Flinty-heart,  you  find  a  knave. 
Well,  I've  seen  you  often,  though  it  was  in  battle;  and  I 
must  say  it  was  always  in  the  van.  You  must  know  most 
of  our  bullets  by  sight?" 

"Nevvair,  sair,  your  own;  une  balle  from  your  honor 
able  hand  be  sairtaine  deaf.  You  kill  my  best  warrior 
on  some  island." 

"That  may  be,  that  may  be;  though  I  daresay,  if  the 
truth  was  known,  they  would  turn  out  to  be  great  rascals. 
No  offense  to  you,  Master  Flinty-heart,  but  you  keep  des 
perate  evil  company." 

"Yes,  sair,"  returned  the  Frenchman,  who,  bent  on 
saying  that  which  was  courteous  himself,  and  comprehend 
ing  with  difficulty,  was  disposed  to  think  he  received  a 
compliment,  "you  too  good.  But  un  brave  always  comme 
cd.  What  that  mean?  ha!  what  that  jeune  homme  do?" 

The  hand  and  eye  of  Captain  Sanglier  directed  the  look 


THE  PATHFINDER  425 

of  Pathfinder  to  the  opposite  side  of  the  fire,  where  Jasper, 
just  at  that  moment,  had  been  rudely  seized  by  two  of  the 
soldiers,  who  were  binding  his  arms  under  the  direction 
of  Muir. 

"What  does  that  mean,  indeed?"  cried  the  guide,  step 
ping  forward  and  shoving  the  two  subordinates  away 
with  a  power  of  muscle  that  would  not  be  denied.  "Who 
has  the  heart  to  do  this  to  Jasper  Eau-douce?  and  who 
has  the  boldness  to  do  it  before  my  eyes?" 

"It  is  by  my  orders,  Pathfinder, ' '  answered  the  quarter 
master,  "and  I  command  it  on  my  own  responsibility. 
Ye' 11  no'  tak'  on  yourself  to  dispute  the  legality  of  orders 
given  by  one  who  bears  the  king's  commission  to  the 
king's  soldiers?" 

"I'd  dispute  the  king's  words,  if  they  came  from  the 
king's  own  mouth,  did  he  say  that  Jasper  desarves  this. 
Has  not  the  lad  just  saved  all  our  scalps,  taken  us  from 
defeat,  and  given  us  victory?  No,  no,  lieutenant;  if  this 
is  the  first  use  that  you  make  of  your  authority,  I,  for 
one,  will  not  respect  it." 

"This  savors  a  little  of  insubordination,"  answered 
Muir;  "but  we  can  bear  much  from  Pathfinder.  It  is 
true  this  Jasper  has  seemed  to  serve  us  in  this  affair,  but 
we  ought  not  to  overlook  past  transactions.  Did  not 
Major  Duncan  himself  denounce  him  to  Sergeant  Dunham 
before  we  left  the  post?  Have  we  not  seen  sufficient  with 
our  own  eyes  to  make  sure  of  having  been  betrayed?  and 
is  it  not  natural,  and  almost  necessary,  to  believe  that 
this  young  man  has  been  the  traitor?  Ah,  Pathfinder! 
ye' 11  no'  be  making  yourself  a  great  statesman  or  a  great 
captain  if  you  put  too  much  faith  in  appearances.  Lord 
bless  me!  Lord  bless  em!  If  I  do  not  believe,  could  the 
truth  be  come  at,  as  you  often  say  yourself,  Pathfinder, 
that  hypocrisy  is  a  more  common  vice  than  even  envy,  and 
that's  the  bane  of  human  nature." 

Captain  Sanglier  shrugged  his  soulders;  then  he  looked 
earnestly  from  Jasper  towards  the  quartermaster,  and 
from  the  quartermaster  towards  Jasper. 

"I  care  not  for  your  envy,  or  your  hypocrisy,  or  even 
for  your  human  natur',"  returned  Pathfinder.  "Jasper 
Eau-douce  is  my  friend;  Jasper  Eau-douce  is  a  brave  lad, 


426  THE  PATHFINDER 

and  an  honest  lad,  and  a  loyal  lad;  and  no  man  of  the 
55th  shall  lay  hands  on  him,  short  of  Lundie's  own  orders, 
while  I'm  in  the  way  to  prevent  it.  You  may  have  au 
thority  over  your  soldiers;  but  you  have  none  over  Jasper 
and  me,  Master  Muir." 

"Bon!"  ejaculated  Sanglier,  the  sound  partaking  equally 
of  the  energies  of  the  throat  and  of  the  nose. 

"Will  ye  no'  hearken  to  reason,  Pathfinder?  Ye' 11  no' 
be  forgetting  our  suspicions  and  judgments;  and  here  is 
another  circumstance  to  augment  and  aggravate  them  all. 
Ye  can  see  this  little  bit  of  bunting;  well,  where  should 
it  be  found  but  by  Mabel  Dunham,  on  the  branch  of  a  tree 
on  this  very  island,  just  an  hour  or  so  before  the  attack 
of  the  enemy;  and  if  ye '11  be  at  the  trouble  to  look  at  the 
fly  of  the  Scud's  ensign,  ye' 11  just  say  that  the  cloth  has 
been  cut  from  out  it.  Circumstantial  evidence  was  never 
stronger." 

"Ma  foi,  c'est  un  pen  fort,  ceci,"  growled  Sanglier 
between  his  teeth. 

"Talk  to  me  of  no  ensigns  and  signals  when  I  know  the 
heart, ' '  continued  the  Pathfinder.  '  'Jasper  has  the  gift  of 
honesty;  and  it  is  too  rare  a  gift  to  be  trifled  with,  like  a 
Mingo's  conscience.  No,  no;  off  hands,  or  we  shall  see 
which  can  make  the  stoutest  battle;  you  and  your  men  of 
the  55th,  or  the  Sarpent  here,  and  Killdeer,  with  Jasper 
and  his  crew.  You  overrate  your  force,  Lieutenant  Muir, 
as  much  as  you  underrate  Eau-douce's  truth." 

"Tresbon!" 

"Well,  if  I  must  speak  plainly,  Pathfinder,  I  e'en  must. 
Captain  Sanglier  here  and  Arrowhead,  this  brave  Tusca- 
rora,  have  both  informed  me  that  this  unfortunate  boy  is 
the  traitor.  After  such  testimony  you  can  no  longer 
oppose  my  right  to  correct  him,  as  well  as  the  necessity  of 
the  act." 

"Scelerat,"  muttered  the  Frenchman. 

"Captain  Sanglier  is  a  brave  soldier,  and  will  not  gain 
say  the  conduct  of  an  honest  sailor,"  put  in  Jasper.  "Is 
there  any  traitor  here,  Captain  Flinty-heart?" 

"Ay,"  added  Muir,  "let  him  speak  out  then,  since  ye 
wish  it,  unhappy  youth!  that  the  truth  may  be  known.  I 
only  hope  that  ye  may  escape  the  last  punishment  when  a 


THE  PATHFINDER  427 

court  will  be  sitting  on  your  misdeeds.  How  is  it,  cap 
tain;  do  ye,  or  do  ye  not,  see  a  traitor  amang  us?" 

"Oui — yes,  sair— bien  sur." 

"Too much  lie!"  said  Arrowhead  in  a  voice  of  thunder, 
striking  the  breast  of  Muir  with  the  back  of  his  own  hand 
in  a  sort  of  ungovernable  gesture;  "where  my  warriors? 
— where  Yengeese  scalp?  Too  much  lie!" 

Muir  wanted  not  for  personal  courage,  nor  for  a  certain 
sense  of  personal  honor.  The  violence  which  had  been 
intended  only  for  a  gesture  he  mistook  for  a  blow;  for 
conscience  was  suddenly  aroused  within  him,  and  he 
stepped  back  a  pace,  extending  his  hand  towards  a  gun. 
His  face  was  livid  with  rage,  and  his  countenance  ex 
pressed  the  fell  intention  of  his  heart.  But  Arrowhead 
was  too  quick  for  him;  with  a  wild  glance  of  the  eye  the 
Tuscarora  looked  about  him;  then  thrust  a  hand  beneath 
his  own  girdle,  drew  forth  a  concealed  knife,  and,  in  the 
twinkling  of  an  eye,  buried  it  in  the  body  of  the  quarter 
master  to  the  handle.  As  the  latter  fell  at  his  feet,  gazing 
into  his  face  with  the  vacant  stare  of  one  surprised  by 
death,  Sanglier  took  a  pinch  of  snuff,  and  said  in  a  calm 
voice: 

"Voila  I'affaire  finie;  mais,"  shrugging  his  shoulders, 
"ce  n'est  qu'un  scelerat  de  moins." 

The  act  was  too  sudden  to  be  prevented;  and  when 
Arrowhead,  uttering  a  yell,  bounded  into  the  bushes,  the 
white  men  were  too  confounded  to  follow.  Chingachgook, 
however,  was  more  collected;  and  the  bushes  had  scarcely 
closed  on  the  passing  body  of  the  Tuscarora  than  they  were 
again  opened  by  that  of  the  Delaware  in  full  pursuit. 

Jasper  Western  spoke  French  fluently,  and  the  words 
and  manner  of  Sanglier  struck  him. 

"Speak,  Monsieur,"  said  he  in  English;  "am  I  the 
traitor?" 

"Le  voila"  answered  the  cool  Frenchman,  "dat  is  our 
espion — our  agent — our  friend — mafoi — c'etait  un  grand 
scelerat — void." 

While  speaking,  Sanglier  bent  over  the  dead  body,  and 
thrust  his  hand  into  a  pocket  of  the  quartermaster,  out  of 
which  he  drew  a  purse.  Emptying  the  contents  on  the 
ground,  several  double-louis  rolled  towards  ^ •'  soldiers, 


428  THE  PATHFINDER 

who  were  not  slow  in  picking  them  up.  Casting  the  purse 
from  him  in  contempt,  the  soldier  of  fortune  turned  to 
wards  the  soup  he  had  been  preparing  with  so  much  care, 
and,  finding  it  to  his  liking,  he  began  to  break  his  fast 
with  an  air  of  indifference  that  the  most  stoical  Indian 
warrior  might  have  envied. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

"The  only  amaranthian  flower  on  earth 
Is  virtue;  the  only  lasting  treasure,  truth." 

—  COWPEK. 

THE  reader  must  imagine  some  of  the  occurrences  that 
followed  the  sudden  death  of  Muir.  While  his  body  was  in 
the  hands  of  his  soldiers,  who  laid  it  decently  aside,  and 
covered  it  with  a  great  coat,  Chingachgook  silently  re 
sumed  his  place  at  the  fire,  and  both  Sanglier  and  Path 
finder  remarked  that  he  carried  a  fresh  and  bleeding  scalp 
at  his  girdle.  No  one  asked  any  questions;  and  the 
former,  although  perfectly  satisfied  that  Arrowhead  had 
fallen,  manifested  neither  curiosity  nor  feeling.  He  con 
tinued  calmly  eating  his  soup,  as  if  the  meal  had  been 
tranquil  as  usual.  There  was  something  of  pride  and  of 
an  assumed  indifference  to  fate,  imitated  from  the  Indians, 
in  all  this;  but  there  was  more  that  really  resulted  from 
practise,  habitual  self-command,  and  constitutional  hard 
ihood.  With  Pathfinder  the  case  was  a  little  different  in 
feeling,  though  much  the  same  in  appearance.  He  dis 
liked  Muir,  whose  smooth-tongued  courtesy  was  little  in 
accordance  with  his  own  frank  and  ingenuous  nature;  but 
he  had  been  shocked  at  his  unexpected  and  violent  death, 
though  accustomed  to  similar  scenes,  and  he  had  been  sur 
prised  at  the  exposure  of  his  treachery.  With  a  view  to 
ascertain  the  extent  of  the  latter,  as  soon  as  the  body  was 
removed,  he  began  to  question  the  captain  on  the  subject. 
The  latter,  having  no  particular  motive  for  secrecy  now 
that  his  agent  was  dead,  in  the  course  of  the  breakfast 
revealed  the  following  circumstances,  which  will  serve  to 
clear  up  some  of  the  minor  incidents  of  our  tale. 

Soon  after  the  55th  appeared  on  the  frontiers,  Muir  had 
volunteered  his  services  to  the  enemy.  In  making  his 
offers,  he  boasted  of  his  intimacy  with  Lundie,  and  of  the 
means  it  afforded  of  furnishing  more  accurate  and  impor 
tant  information  than  usual.  His  terms  had  been  accepted, 

429 


430  THE  PATHFINDER 

and  Monsieur  Sanglier  had  several  interviews  with  him 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  fort  at  Oswego,  and  had  actually 
passed  one  entire  night  secreted  in  the  garrison.  Arrow 
head,  however,  was  the  usual  channel  of  communication; 
and  the  anonymous  letter  to  Major  Duncan  had  been 
originally  written  by  Muir,  transmitted  to  Frontenac, 
copied,  and  sent  back  by  the  Tuscarora,  who  was  returning 
from  that  errand  when  captured  by  the  Scud.  It  is  scarcely 
necessary  to  add  that  Jasper  was  to  be  sacrificed  in  order 
to  conceal  the  quartermaster's  treason,  and  that  the  posi 
tion  of  the  island  had  been  betrayed  to  the  enemy  by  the 
latter.  An  extraordinary  compensation — that  which  wras 
found  in  his  purse — had  induced  him  to  accompany  the 
party  under  Sergeant  Dunham,  in  order  to  give  the  sig 
nals  that  were  to  bring  on  the  attack.  The  disposition  of 
Muir  towards  the  sex  was  a  natural  weakness,  and  he 
would  have  married  Mabel,  or  any  one  else  who  would 
accept  his  hand;  but  his  admiration  of  her  was  in  a  great 
degree  feigned,  in  order  that  he  might  have  an  excuse  for 
accompanying  the  party  without  sharing  in  the  responsi 
bility  of  its  defeat,  or  incurring  the  risk  of  having  no 
other  strong  and  seemingly  sufficient  motive.  Much  of 
this  was  known  to  Captain  Sanglier,  particularly  the  part 
in  connection  with  Mabel,  and  he  did  not  fail  to  let  his 
auditors  into  the  whole  secret,  frequently  laughing  in  a 
sarcastic  manner,  as  he  revealed  the  different  expedients 
of  the  luckless  quartermaster. 

"Touchez-la,"  said  the  cold-blooded  partisan,  holding 
out  his  sinewy  hand  to  Pathfinder,  when  he  ended  his  ex 
planations;  "you  be  honnete,  and  dat  is  beaucoup.  We 
tak'  de  spy  as  we  tak'  la  medicine,  for  de  good;  mais, 
je  les  deteste!  Touchez-la." 

"I'll  shake  your  hand,  captain,  I  will;  for  you're  a 
lawful  and  nat'ral  inimy,"  returned  Pathfinder,  "and  a 
manful  one;  but  the  body  of  the  quatermaster  shall  never 
disgrace  English  ground.  I  did  intend  to  carry  it  back  to 
Lundie,  that  he  might  play  his  bagpipes  over  it,  but  now 
it  shall  lie  here  on  the  spot  where  he  acted  his  villainy, 
and  have  his  own  treason  for  a  headstone.  Captain  Flinty- 
heart,  I  suppose  this  consorting  with  traitors  is  a  part  of 
a  soldier's  regular  business;  but,  I  tell  you  honestly,  it  is 


THE  PATHFINDER  431 

not  to  my  liking,  and  I'd  rather  it  should  be  you  than  I 
who  had  this  affair  on  his  conscience.  What  an  awful 
sinner!  To  plot,  right  and  left,  ag'in  country,  friends, 
and  the  Lord!  Jasper,  boy,  a  word  with  you  aside,  for  a 
single  minute." 

Pathfinder  now  led  the  young  man  apart;  and,  squeezing 
his  hand,  with  the  tears  in  his  own  eyes,  he  continued: 

"You  know  me,  Eau-douce,  and  I  know  you,"  said  he, 
"and  this  news  has  not  changed  my  opinion  of  you  in  any 
manner.  I  never  believed  their  tales,  though  it  looked 
solemn  at  one  minute,  I  will  own;  yes,  it  did  look  sol 
emn,  and  it  made  me  feel  solemn,  too.  I  never  suspected 
you  for  a  minute,  for  I  know  your  gifts  don't  lie  that- 
a-way;  but,  I  must  own,  I  didn't  suspect  the  quarter 
master  neither." 

'  'And  he  holding  his  Majesty's  commission, Pathfinder ! ' ' 

"It  isn't  so  much  that,  Jasper  Western,  it  isn't  so  much 
that.  He  held  a  commission  from  God  to  act  right,  and 
to  deal  fairly  with  his  fellow-creatures,  and  he  has  failed 
awfully  in  his  duty." 

"To  think  of  his  pretending  love  for  one  like  Mabel, 
too,  when  he  felt  none. ' ' 

"That  was  bad,  sartainly;  the  fellow  must  have  had 
Mingo  blood  in  his  veins.  The  man  that  deals  unfairly 
by  a  woman  can  be  but  a  mongrel,  lad;  for  the  Lord  has 
made  them  helpless  on  purpose  that  we  may  gain  their 
love  by  kindness  and  sarvices.  Here  is  the  sergeant,  poor 
man,  on  his  dying  bed;  he  has  given  me  his  daughter  for 
a  wife,  and  Mabel,  dear  girl,  she  has  consented  to  it;  and 
it  makes  me  feel  that  I  have  two  welfares  to  look  after, 
two  naturs  to  care  for,  and  two  hearts  to  gladden.  Ah's 
me,  Jasper!  I  sometimes  feel  that  I'm  not  good  enough 
for  that  sweet  child!" 

Eau-douce  had  nearly  gasped  for  breath  when  he  first 
heard  this  intelligence;  and,  though  he  succeeded  in  sup 
pressing  any  other  outward  signs  of  agitation,  his  cheek 
was  blanched  nearly  to  the  paleness  of  death.  Still  he 
found  means  to  answer  not  only  with  firmness,  but  with 
energy. 

"Say  not  so,  Pathfinder;  you  are  good  enough  for  a 
queen. ' ' 


432  THE  PATHFINDER 

"Ay,  ay,  boy,  according  to  your  idees  of  my  goodness; 
that  is  to  say,  I  can  kill  a  deer,  or  even  a  Mingo  at  need, 
with  any  man  on  the  lines;  or  I  can  follow  a  forest-path 
with  as  true  an  eye,  or  read  the  stars  when  others  do  not 
understand  them.  No  doubt,  Mabel  will  have  venison 
enough,  and  fish  enough,  and  pigeons  enough;  but  will 
she  have  knowledge  enough,  and  will  she  have  idees 
enough,  and  pleasant  conversation  enough,  when  life 
comes  to  drag  a  little,  and  each  of  us  begins  to  pass  for 
our  true  value?" 

"If  you  pass  for  your  value,  Pathfinder,  the  greatest 
lady  in  the  land  would  be  happy  with  you.  On  that  head 
you  have  no  reason  to  feel  afraid." 

"Now,  Jasper,  I  dare  to  say  you  think  so,  nay,  I  know 
you  do;  for  it  is  nat'ral,  and  according  to  friendship,  for 
people  to  look  over-favorably  at  them  they  love.  Yes, 
yes;  if  I  had  to  marry  you,  boy,  I  should  give  myself  no 
consarn  about  my  being  well  looked  upon,  for  you  have 
always  shown  a  disposition  to  see  me  and  all  I  do  with 
friendly  eyes.  But  a  young  gal,  after  all,  must  wish  to 
marry  a  man  that  is  nearer  to  her  own  age  and  fancies, 
than  to  have  one  old  enough  to  be  her  father,  and  rude 
enough  to  frighten  her.  I  wonder,  Jasper,  that  Mabel 
never  took  a  fancy  to  you,  now,  rather  than  setting  her 
mind  on  me." 

"Take  a  fancy  tome,  Pathfinder!"  returned  the  young 
man,  endeavoring  to  clear  his  voice  without  betraying 
himself;  "what  is  there  about  me  to  please  such  a  girl  as 
Mabel  Dunham?  I  have  all  that  you  find  fault  with  in 
yourself,  with  none  of  that  excellence  that  makes  even  the 
generals  respect  you. ' ' 

"Well,  well,  it's  all  chance,  say  what  we  will  about  it. 
Here  have  I  journeyed  and  guided  through  the  woods 
female  after  female,  and  consorted  with  them  in  the  gar 
risons,  and  never  have  I  even  felt  an  inclination  for  any, 
until  I  saw  Mabel  Dunham.  It's  true  the  poor  sergeant 
first  set  me  to  thinking  about  his  daughter;  but  after  we 
got  a  little  acquainted  like,  I'd  no  need  of  being  spoken 
to,  to  think  of  her  night  and  day.  I'm  tough,  Jasper; 
yes,  I'm  very  tough;  and  I'm  risolute  enough,  as  you  all 
know;  and  yet  I  do  think  it  would  quite  break  me  down, 
now,  to  lose  Mabel  Dunham!" 


THE  PATHFINDER  433 

"We  will  talk  no  more  of  it,  Pathfinder,"  said  Jasper, 
returning  his  friend's  squeeze  of  the  hand,  and  moving 
back  towards  the  fire,  though  slowly,  and  in  the  manner 
of  one  who  care  little  where  he  went;  "we  will  talk  no 
more  of  it.  You  are  worthy  of  Mabel,  and  Mabel  is 
worthy  of  you — you  like  Mabel,  and  Mabel  likes  you — her 
father  has  chosen  you  for  her  husband,  and  no  one  has  a 
right  to  interfere.  As  for  the  quartermaster,  his  feigning 
love  for  Mabel  is  worse  even  than  his  treason  to  the  king. ' ' 

By  this  time  they  were  so  near  the  fire  that  it  was 
necessary  to  change  the  conversation.  Luckily,  at  that 
instant,  Cap,  who  had  been  in  the  block  in  company  with 
his  dying  brother-in-law,  and  who  knew  nothing  of  what 
had  passed  since  the  capitulation,  now  appeared,  walking 
with  a  meditative  and  melancholy  air  towards  the  group. 
Much  of  that  hearty  dogmatism,  that  imparted  even  to 
his  ordinary  air  and  demeanor  an  appearance  of  something 
like  contempt  for  all  around  him,  had  disappeared,  and  he 
seemed  thoughtful,  if  not  meek. 

"This  death,  gentlemen,"  said  he,  when  he  had  got 
sufficiently  near,  "is  a  melancholy  business,  make  the  best 
of  it.  Now,  here  is  Sergeant  Dunham,  a  very  good  sol 
dier,  I  make  no  question,  about  to  slip  his  cable;  and  yet 
he  holds  on  to  the  better  end  of  it,  as  if  he  was  deter 
mined  it  should  never  run  out  of  the  hawsehole;  and  all 
because  he  loves  his  daughter,  it  seems  to  me.  For  my 
part,  when  a  friend  is  really  under  the  necessity  of  mak 
ing  a  long  journey,  I  always  wish  him  well  and  happily 
off." 

"You  wouldn't  kill  the  sergeant  before  his  time?" 
Pathfinder  reproachfully  answered.  "Life  is  sweet,  even 
to  the  aged;  and,  for  that  matter,  I've  known  some  that 
seemed  to  set  much  store  by  it  when  it  got  to  be  of  the 
least  value." 

Nothing  had  been  further  from  Cap's  real  thoughts  than 
the  wish  to  hasten  his  brother-in-law's  end.  He  had  found 
himself  embarrassed  with  the  duties  of  smoothing  a  death 
bed,  and  all  he  had  meant  was  to  express  a  sincere  desire 
that  the  sergeant  were  happily  rid  of  doubt  and  suffering. 
A  little  shocked,  therefore  at  the  interpretation  that  had 
been  put  on  his  words,  he  rejoined  with  some  of  the  as- 
28 


434  THE  PATHFINDER 

perity  of  the  man,  though  rebuked  by  a  consciousness  of 
not  having  done  his  own  wishes  justice.  "You  are  too 
old  and  too  sensible  a  person,  Pathfinder,"  said  he,  "to 
fetch  a  man  up  with  a  surge,  when  he  is  paying  out  his 
ideas  in  distress,  as  it  might  be.  Sergeant  Dunham  is 
both  my  brother-in-law  and  my  friend — that  is  to  say,  as 
intimate  a  friend  as  a  soldier  well  can  be  with  a  seafaring 
man — and  I  respect  and  honor  him  accordingly.  I  make 
no  doubt,  moreover,  that  he  has  lived  such  a  life  as  be 
comes  a  man,  and  there  can  be  no  great  harm,  after  all, 
in  wishing  any  one  well  berthed  in  heaven.  Well !  we  are 
mortal,  the  best  of  us,  that  you'll  not  deny;  and  it  ought 
to  be  a  lesson  not  to  feel  pride  in  our  strength  and  beauty. 
Where  is  the  quartermaster,  Pathfinder?  It  is  proper  he 
should  come  and  have  a  parting  word  with  the  poor  ser 
geant,  who  is  only  going  a  little  before  us." 

"You  have  spoken  more  truth,  Master  Cap,  than  you've 
been  knowing  to,  all  this  time.  You  might  have  gone 
further,  notwithstanding,  and  said  that  we  are  mortal, 
the  worst  of  us;  which  is  quite  as  true,  and  a  good  deal 
more  wholesome,  than  saying  that  we  are  mortal,  the  best 
of  us.  As  for  the  quartermaster's  coming  to  speak  a 
parting  word  to  the  sergeant,  it  is  quite  out  of  the  ques 
tion,  seeing  that  he  has  gone  ahead,  and  that,  too,  with 
little  parting  notice  to  himself,  or  to  any  one  else." 

"You  are  not  quite  so  clear  as  common  in  your  language, 
Pathfinder.  I  know  that  we  ought  all  to  have  solemn 
thoughts  on  these  occasions,  but  I  see  no  use  in  speaking 
in  parables." 

"If  my  words  are  not  plain,  the  idee  is.  In  short, 
Master  Cap,  while  Sergeant  Dunham  has  been  preparing' 
himself  for  a  long  journey,  like  a  conscientious  and  honest 
man  as  he  is,  deliberately,  the  quartermaster  has  started, 
in  a  hurry,  before  him;  and,  although  it  is  a  matter  on 
which  it  does  not  become  me  to  be  very  positive,  I  give 
it  as  my  opinion  that  they  travel  such  different  roads  that 
they  will  never  meet." 

"Explain  yourself,  my  friend,"  said  the  bewildered 
seaman,  looking  around  him  in  search  of  Muir,  whose  ab 
sence  began  to  excite  his  distrust.  "I  see  nothing  of  the 
quartermaster;  but  I  think  him  too  much  of  a  man  to  run 


THE  PATHFINDER  435 

away,  now  that  the  victory  is  gained.  If  the  fight  were 
ahead,  instead  of  in  our  wake,  the  case  would  be  altered. " 

"There  lies  all  that  is  left  of  him,  beneath  that  great 
coat,"  returned  the  guide,  who  then  briefly  related  the 
manner  of  the  lieutenant's  death.  "The  Tuscarora  was  as 
venomous  in  his  blow  as  a  rattler,  though  he  failed  to 
give  the  warning,"  continued  Pathfinder.  "I've  seen 
many  a  desperate  fight,  and  several  of  these  sudden  out 
breaks  of  savage  temper;  but  never  before  did  I  see  a 
human  soul  quit  the  body  more  unexpectedly,  or  at  a 
worse  moment  for  the  hopes  of  the  dying  man.  His  breath 
was  stopped  with  the  lie  on  his  lips,  and  the  spirit  might 
be  said  to  have  passed  away  in  the  very  ardor  of  wicked 
ness.  ' ' 

Cap  listened  with  a  gaping  mouth;  and  he  gave  two  or 
three  violent  hems,  as  the  other  concluded,  like  one  who 
distrusted  his  own  respiration. 

"This  is  an  uncertain  and  uncomfortable  life  of  yours, 
Master  Pathfinder,  what  between  the  fresh  water  and  the 
savages,"  said  he;  "and  the  sooner  I  get  quit  of  it,  the 
higher  will  be  my  opinion  of  myself.  Now  you  mention 
it,  I  will  say  that  the  man  ran  for  that  berth  in  the  rocks, 
when  the  enemy  first  bore  down  upon  us,  with  a  sort  of 
instinct  that  I  thought  surprising  in  an  officer;  but  I  was 
in  too  great  a  hurry  to  follow,  to  log  the  whole  matter 
accurately.  God  bless  me!  God  bless  me! — a  traitor,  do 
you  say,  and  ready  to  sell  his  country,  and  to  a  rascally 
Frenchman,  too?" 

"To  sell  anything;  country,  soul,  body,  Mabel,  and  all 
our  scalps;  and  no  ways  particular,  I'll  engage,  as  to  the 
purchaser.  The  countrymen  of  Captain  Flinty-heart  here 
were  the  paymasters  this  time." 

"Just  like  'em;  ever  ready  to  buy  when  they  can't 
thrash,  and  to  run  when  they  can  do  neither." 

Monsieur  Sanglier  lifted  his  cap  with  ironical  gravity, 
and  acknowledged  the  compliment  with  an  expression  of 
polite  contempt  that  was  altogether  lost  on  its  insensible 
subject.  But  Pathfinder  had  too  much  native  courtesy, 
and  was  far  too  just-minded,  to  allow  the  attack  to  go 
unnoticed. 

"Well,  well,"  he  interposed,  "to  my  mind  there  is  no 


436  THE  PATHFINDER 

great  difference  'atween  an  Englishman  and  a  Frenchman, 
after  all.  They  talk  different  tongues,  and  live  under 
different  kings,  I  will  allow;  but  both  are  human,  and 
feel  like  human  beings,  when  there  is  occasion  for  it." 

Captain  Flinty-heart,  as  Pathfinder  called  him,  made 
another  obeisance;  but  this  time  the  smile  was  friendly, 
and  not  ironical;  for  he  felt  that  the  intention  was  good, 
whatever  might  have  been  the  mode  of  expressing  it.  Too 
philosophical,  however,  to  heed  what  a  man  like  Cap 
might  say  or  think,  he  finished  his  breakfast,  without 
allowing  his  attention  to  be  again  diverted  from  that 
important  pursuit. 

"My  business  here  was  principally  with  the  quarter 
master,"  Cap  continued,  as  soon  as  he  had  done  regarding 
the  prisoner's  pantomime.  "The  sergeant  must  be  near 
his  end,  and  I  have  thought  he  might  wish  to  say  some 
thing  to  his  successor  in  authority  before  he  finally  de 
parted.  It  is  too  late,  it  would  seem;  and,  as  you  say, 
Pathfinder,  the  lieutenant  has  truly  gone  before." 

"That  he  has,  though  on  a  different  path.  As  for 
authority,  I  suppose  the  corporal  has  now  a  right  to  com 
mand  what's  left  of  the  55th;  though  a  small  and  worried, 
not  to  say  frightened,  party  it  is.  But,  if  anything  needs 
to  be  done,  the  chances  are  greatly  in  favor  of  my  being 
called  on  to  do  it.  I  suppose,  however,  we  have  only  to 
bury  our  dead ;  set  fire  to  the  block  and  the  huts,  for  they 
stand  in  the  inimy's  territory  by  position,  if  not  by  law, 
and  must  not  be  left  for  their  convenience.  Our  using 
them  again  is  out  of  the  question;  for,  now  the  Frenchers 
know  where  the  island  is  to  be  found,  it  would  be  like 
thrusting  the  hand  into  a  wolf-trap  with  our  eyes  wide 
open.  This  part  of  the  work  the  Sarpent  and  I  will  see 
to,  for  we  are  as  practysed  in  retreats  as  in  advances. ' ' 

"All  that  is  very  well,  my  good  friend.  And  now  for 
my  poor  brother-in-law;  though  he  is  a  soldier,  we  cannot 
let  him  slip  without  a  word  of  consolation  and  a  leave- 
taking,  in  my  judgment.  This  has  been  an  unlucky  affair 
on  every  tack;  though  I  suppose  it  is  what  one  had  a 
right  to  expect,  considering  the  state  of  the  times  and 
the  nature  of  the  navigation.  We  must  make  the  best  of 
it,  and  try  to  help  the  worthy  man  to  unmoor,  without 


THE  PATHFINDER  437 

straining  his  messengers.  Death  is  a  circumstance,  after 
all,  Master  Pathfinder,  and  one  of  a  very  general  character, 
too,  seeing  that  we  must  all  submit  to  it,  sooner  or  later." 
"You  say  truth,  you  say  truth;  and  for  that  reason  I 
hold  it  to  be  wise  to  be  always  ready.  I've  often  thought 
Saltwater,  that  he  is  the  happiest  who  has  the  least  to 
leave  behind  him  when  the  summons  comes.  Now,  here 
am  I,  a  hunter  and  a  scout  and  a  guide,  although  I  do  not 
own  a  foot  of  land  on  'arth,  yet  do  I  enjoy  and  possess 
more  than  the  great  Albany  Patroon.  With  the  heavens 
over  my  head  to  keep  me  in  mind  of  the  last  great  hunt, 
and  the  dried  leaves  beneath  my  feet,  I  tramp  over  the 
ground  as  freely  as  if  I  was  its  lord  and  owner;  and  what 
more  need  heart  desire?  I  do  not  say  that  I  love  nothing 
that  belongs  to  'arth;  for  I  do,  though  not  much,  unless 
it  might  be  Mabel  Dunham,  that  I  can't  carry  with  me. 
I  have  some  pups  at  the  higher  fort  that  I  vally  consider 
able,  though  they  are  too  noisy  for  warfare,  and  so  we  are 
compelled  to  live  separate  for  a  while;  and  then  I  think 
it  would  grieve  me  to  part  with  Killdeer;  but  I  see  no 
reason  why  we  should  not  be  buried  in  the  same  grave, 
for  we  are  as  near  as  can  be  of  the  same  length — six  feet 
to  a  hair's  breadth;  but,  bating  these,  and  a  pipe  that 
the  Sarpent  gave  me,  and  a  few  tokens  received  from 
travelers,  all  of  which  might  be  put  in  a  pouch  and  laid 
under  my  head,  when  the  order  comes  to  march  I  shall  be 
ready  at  a  minute's  warning;  and,  let  me  tell  you,  Master 
Cap,  that's  what  I  call  a  circumstance,  too." 

'  'Tis  just  so  with  me,"  answered  the  sailor,  as  the 
two  walked  towards  the  block,  too  much  occupied  with 
their  respective  morality  to  remember  at  the  moment  the 
melancholy  errand  they  were  on;  "that's  just  my  way  of 
feeling  and  reasoning.  How  often  have  I  felt,  when  near 
shipwreck,  the  relief  of  not  owning  the  craft!  'If  she 
goes,'  I  have  said  to  myself,  'why,  my  life  goes  with  her, 
but  not  my  property,  and  there's  great  comfort  in  that.' 
I've  discovered,  in  the  course  of  boxing  about  the  world 
from  the  Horn  to  Cape  North,  not  to  speak  of  this  run  on 
a  bit  of  fresh  water,  that  if  a  man  has  a  few  dollars,  and 
puts  them  in  a  chest  under  lock  and  key,  he  is  pretty  cer 
tain  to  fasten  up  his  heart  in  the  same  till;  and  so  I  carry 


438  THE  PATHFINDER 

pretty  much  all  I  own  in  a  belt  round  my  body,  in  order, 
as  I  say,  to  keep  the  vitals  in  the  right  place.  D —  -  me, 
Pathfinder,  if  I  think  a  man  without  a  heart  any  better 
than  a  fish  with  a  hole  in  his  air-bag." 

"I  don't  know  how  that  may  be,  Master  Cap;  but  a 
man  without  a  conscience  is  but  a  poor  creatur',  take  my 
word  for  it,  as  anyone  will  discover  who  has  to  do  with  a 
Mingo.  I  trouble  myself  but  little  with  dollars  or  half- 
joes,  for  these  are  the  favoryte  coin  in  this  part  of  the 
world;  but  I  can  easily  believe,  by  what  I've  seen  of 
mankind,  that  if  a  man  has  a  chest  filled  with  either,  he 
may  be  said  to  lock  up  his  heart  in  the  same  box.  I  once 
hunted  for  two  summers,  during  the  last  peace,  and  I  col 
lected  so  much  peltry  that  I  found  my  right  feelings  giving 
way  to  a  craving  after  property;  and  if  I  have  consarn  in 
marrying  Mabel,  it  is  that  I  may  get  to  love  such  things 
too  well,  in  order  to  make  her  comfortable." 

"You're  a  philosopher,  that's  clear,  Pathfinder;  and  I 
don't  know  but  you're  a  Christian." 

"I  should  be  out  of  humor  with  the  man  that  gainsayed 
the  last,  Master  Cap.  I  have  not  been  Christianized  by 
the  Moravians,  like  so  many  of  the  Delawares,  it  is  true; 
but  I  hold  to  Christianity  and  white  gifts.  With  me,  it 
is  as  on-creditable  for  a  white  man  not  to  be  a  Christian 
as  it  is  for  a  red-skin  not  to  believe  in  his  happy  hunting- 
grounds;  indeed,  after  allowing  for  difference  in  tradi 
tions,  and  in  some  variations  about  the  manner  in  which 
the  spirit  will  be  occupied  after  death,  I  hold  that  a  good 
Delaware  is  a  good  Christian,  though  he  never  saw  a 
Moravian;  and  a  good  Christian  a  good  Delaware,  so  far 
as  natur'  is  consarned.  The  Sarpent  and  I  talk  these 
matters  over  often,  for  he  has  a  hankerin'  after  Chris 
tianity — 

"The  devil  he  has!"  interrupted  Cap.  "And  what  does 
he  intend  to  do  in  a  church  with  all  the  scalps  he  takes?" 

"Don't  run  away  with  a  false  idee,  friend  Cap,  don't 
run  away  with  a  false  idee.  These  things  are  only  skin- 
deep,  and  all  depend  on  edication  and  nat'ral  gifts.  Look 
around  you  at  mankind,  and  tell  me  why  you  see  a  red 
warrior  here,  a  black  one  there,  and  white  armies  in 
another  place?  All  this,  and  a  great  deal  more  of  the 


THE  PATHFINDER  439 

same  kind  that  I  could  point  out,  has  been  ordered  for 
some  special  purpose;  and  it  is  not  for  us  to  fly  in  the 
face  of  facts  and  deny  their  truth.  No,  no;  each  color 
has  its  gifts,  and  its  laws,  and  its  traditions;  and  one  is 
not  to  condemn  another  because  he  does  not  exactly  com 
prehend  it." 

"You  must  have  read  a  great  deal,  Pathfinder,  to  see 
things  so  clear  as  this,"  returned  Cap,  not  a  little  mysti 
fied  by  his  companion's  simple  creed.  "It's  all  as  plain 
as  day  to  me  now,  though  I  must  say  I  never  fell  in  with 
these  opinions  before.  What  denomination  do  you  belong 
to,  my  friend?" 

"Anan?" 

"What  sect  do  you  hold  out  for?  What  particular 
Church  do  you  fetch  up  in?" 

"Look  about  you,  and  judge  for  yourself,  I'm  in  church 
"now;  I  eat  in  church,  drink  in  church,  sleep  in  church. 
The  'arth  is  the  temple  of  the  Lord,  and  I  wait  on  Him 
hourly,  daily,  without  ceasing,  I  humbly  hope.  No,  no, 
HI  not  deny  my  blood  and  color;  but  am  Christian  born, 
and  shall  die  in  the  same  faith.  The  Moravians  tried  me 
hard;  and  one  of  the  King's  chaplains  has  had  his  say,  too, 
though  that's  a  class  no  ways  strenuous  on  such  matters; 
and  a  missionary  sent  from  Rome  talked  much  with  me, 
as  I  guided  him  through  the  forest,  during  the  last  peace; 
but  I've  had  one  answer  for  them  all — I'm  a  Christian 
already,  and  want  to  be  neither  Moravian,  nor  Churchman 
nor  Papist.  No,  no,  I'll  not  deny  my  birth  and  blood." 

"I  think  a  word  from  you  might  lighten  the  sergeant 
over  the  shoals  of  death,  Master  Pathfinder.  He  has  no 
one  with  him  but  poor  Mabel;  and  she,  you  know,  besides 
being  his  daughter,  is  but  a  girl  and  a  child  after  all." 

"Mabel  is  feeble  in  body,  friend  Cap;  but  in  matters 
of  this  natur'  I  doubt  if  she  may  not  be  stronger  than 
most  men.  But  Sergeant  Dunham  is  my  friend,  and  he 
is  your  brother-in-law;  so,  now  the  press  of  fighting  and 
maintaining  our  rights  is  over,  it  is  fitting  we  should 
both  go  and  witness  his  departure.  I've  stood  by  many  a 
dying  man,  Master  Cap,"  continued  Pathfinder,  who  had 
a  besetting  propensity  to  enlarge  on  his  experience,  stop 
ping  and  holding  his  companion  by  a  button — "I've  stood 


440  THE  PATHFINDER 

by  many  a  dying  man's  side,  and  seen  his  last  gasp,  and 
heard  his  last  breath;  for,  when  the  hurry  and  tumult  of 
the  battle  is  over,  it  is  good  to  bethink  us  of  the  misfor- 
tunate,  and  it  is  remarkable  to  witness  how  differently 
human  natur'  feels  at  such  solemn  moments.  Some  go 
their  way  as  stupid  and  ignorant  as  if  God  had  never 
given  them  reason  and  an  accountable  state;  while  others 
quit  us  rejoicing,  like  men  who  leave  heavy  burthens 
behind  them.  I  think  that  the  mind  sees  clearly  at  such 
moments,  my  friend,  and  that  past  deeds  stand  thick 
before  the  recollection." 

"I'll  engage  they  do,  Pathfinder.  I  have  witnessed 
something  of  this  myself,  and  hope  I'm  the  better  man 
for  it.  I  remember  once  that  I  thought  my  own  time  had 
come,  and  the  log  was  overhauled  with  a  diligence  I  did 
not  think  myself  capable  of  until  that  moment.  I've  not 
been  a  very  great  sinner,  friend  Pathfinder;  that  is  to 
say,  never  on  a  large  scale;  though  I  daresay,  if  the  truth 
were  spoken,  a  considerable  amount  of  small  matters 
might  be  raked  up  against  me,  as  well  as  against  another 
man;  but  then,  I've  never  committed  piracy,  nor  high 
treason,  nor  arson,  nor  any  of  them  sort  of  things.  As  to 
smuggling,  and  the  like  of  that,  why,  I'm  a  seafaring 
man,  and  I  suppose  all  callings  have  their  weak  spots.  I 
daresay  your  trade  is  not  altogether  without  blemish, 
honorable  and  useful  as  it  seems  to  be?" 

"Many  of  the  scouts  and  guides  are  desperate  knaves; 
and,  like  the  quartermaster  here,  some  of  them  take  pay 
of  both  sides.  I  hope  I'm  not  one  of  them,  though  all 
occupations  lead  to  temptations.  Thrice  have  I  been 
sorely  tried  in  my  life,  and  once  I  yielded  a  little,  though 
I  hope  it  was  not  in  a  matter  to  disturb  a  man's  conscience 
in  his  last  moments.  The  first  time  was  when  I  found  in 
the  woods  a  pack  of  skins  that  I  knowed  belonged  to  a 
Frencher  who  was  hunting  on  our  side  of  the  lines,  where 
he  had  no  business  to  be;  twenty-six  as  handsome  beavers 
as  ever  gladdened  human  eyes.  Well,  that  was  a  sore 
temptation;  for  I  thought  the  law  would  have  been  almost 
with  me,  although  it  was  in  peace  times.  But  then,  I 
remembered  that  such  laws  wasn't  made  for  us  hunters, 
and  bethought  me  that  the  poor  man  might  have  built 


THE  PATHFINDER  441 

great  expectations  for  the  next  winter  on  the  sale  of  his 
skins;  and  I  left  them  where  they  lay.  Most  of  our  people 
said  I  did  wrong;  but  the  manner  in  which  I  slept  that 
night  convinced  me  that  I  had  done  right.  The  next  trial 
was  when  I  found  the  rifle  that  is  sartainly  the  only  one 
in  this  part  of  the  world  that  can  be  calculated  on  as 
surely  as  Killdeer,  and  knowed  that  by  taking  it,  or  even 
hiding  it,  I  might  at  once  rise  to  be  the  first  shot  in  all 
these  parts.  I  was  then  young,  and  by  no  means  so  expart 
as  I  have  since  got  to  be,  and  youth  is  ambitious  and 
striving;  but,  God  be  praised!  I  mastered  that  feeling; 
and,  friend  Cap,  what  is  almost  as  good,  I  mastered  my 
rival  in  as  fair  a  shooting  match  as  was  ever  witnessed  in 
a  garrison;  he  with  his  piece,  and  I  with  Killdeer,  and 
before  the  general  in  person,  too!"  Here  Pathfinder 
stopped  to  laugh,  his  triumph  still  glittering  in  his  eyes 
and  glowing  on  his  sunburnt  and  browned  cheek.  "Well, 
the  next  conflict  with  the  devil  was  the  hardest  of  them 
all ;  and  that  was  when  I  came  suddenly  upon  a  camp  of 
six  Mingoes  asleep  in  the  woods,  with  their  guns  and 
horns  piled  in  a  way  that  enabled  me  to  get  possession  of 
them  without  waking  a  miscreant  of  them  all.  What  an 
opportunity  that  would  have  been  for  the  Sarpent,  who 
would  have  despatched  them,  one  after  another,  with  his 
knife,  and  had  their  six  scalps  at  his  girdle,  in  about  the 
time  it  takes  me  to  tell  you  the  story.  Oh,  he's  a  valiant 
warrior,  that  Chingachgook,  and  as  honest  as  he's  brave, 
and  as  good  as  he's  honest!" 

"And  what  may  you  have  done  in  this  matter,  Master 
Pathfinder?"  demanded  Cap,  who  began  to  be  interested 
in  the  result;  "it  seems  to  me  you  had  made  either  a  very 
lucky,  or  a  very  unlucky  landfall." 

"  'Twas  lucky,  and  'twas  unlucky,  if  you  can  under 
stand  that.  'Twas  unlucky,  for  it  proved  a  desperate 
trial;  and  yet  'twas  lucky,  all  things  considered,  in  the 
ind.  I  did  not  touch  a  hair  of  their  heads,  for  a  white 
man  has  no  nat'ral  gifts  to  take  scalps;  nor  did  I  even 
make  sure  of  one  of  their  rifles.  I  distrusted  myself, 
knowing  that  a  Mingo  is  no  favorite  in  my  own  eyes." 

"As  for  the  scalps,  I  think  you  were  right  enough,  my 
worthy  friend;  but  as  for  the  armament  and  the  stores, 


442  THE  PATHFINDER 

they  would  have  been  condemned  by  any  prize-court  in 
Christendom." 

"That  they  would,  that  they  would;  but  then  the  Min- 
goes  would  have  gone  clear,  seeing  that  a  white  man  can 
no  more  attack  an  unarmed  than  a  sleeping  inimy.  No, 
no,  I  did  myself,  and  my  color,  and  my  religion,  too, 
greater  justice.  I  waited  till  their  nap  was  over,  and 
they  well  on  their  warpath  again;  and,  by  ambushing 
them  here  and  flanking  them  there,  I  peppered  the  black 
guards  intrinsically  like"  (Pathfinder  occasionally  caught 
a  fine  word  from  his  associates,  and  used  it  a  little 
vaguely),  "that  only  one  ever  got  back  to  his  village,  and 
he  came  into  his  wigwam  limping.  Luckily,  as  it  turned 
out,  the  great  Delaware  had  only  halted  to  jerk  some  ven 
ison,  and  was  following  on  my  trail;  and  when  he  got  up 
he  had  five  of  the  scoundrels'  scalps  hanging  where  they 
ought  to  be;  so,  you  see,  nothing  was  lost  by  doing  right, 
either  in  the  way  of  honor  or  in  that  of  profit." 

Cap  grunted  an  assent,  though  the  distinctions  in  his 
companion's  morality,  it  must  be  owned,  were  not  exactly 
clear  to  his  understanding.  The  two  had  occasionally 
moved  towards  the  block  as  they  conversed,  and  then 
stopped  again  as  some  matter  of  more  interest  than  com 
mon  brought  them  to  a  halt.  They  were  now  so  near  the 
building,  however,  that  neither  thought  of  pursuing 
the  subject  any  further;  but  each  prepared  himself  for  the 
final  scene  with  Sergeant  Dunham. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 

"Thou  barraine  ground,  whom  winter's  wrath  has  wasted, 

Art  made  a  mirror  to  behold  my  plight; 
Whilome  thy  fresh  spring  flower'd:  and  after  hasted 

Thy  summer  proude,  with  daffodillies  dight; 
And  now  is  come  thy  winter's  stormy  state, 
Thy  mantle  mar'd  wherein  thou  maskedst  late." 

-SPENSER. 

ALTHOUGH  the  soldier  may  regard  danger  and  even  death 
with  indifference  in  the  tumult  of  battle,  when  the  passage 
of  the  soul  is  delayed  to  moments  of  tranquillity  and  reflec 
tion  the  change  commonly  brings  with  it  the  usual  train  of 
solemn  reflections;  of  regrets  for  the  past,  and  of  doubts 
and  anticipations  for  the  future.  Many  a  man  has  died 
with  a  heroic  expression  on  his  lips,  but  with  heaviness 
and  distrust  at  his  heart;  for,  whatever  may  be  the  vari 
eties  of  our  religious  creeds,  let  us  depend  on  the  medita 
tion  of  Christ,  the  dogmas  of  Mahomed,  or  the  elaborated 
allegories  of  the  east,  there  is  a  conviction,  common  to 
all  men,  that  death  is  but  the  stepping-stone  between  this 
and  a  more  elevated  state  of  being.  Sergeant  Dunham 
was  a  brave  man;  but  he  was  departing  for  a  country  in 
which  resolution  could  avail  him  nothing;  and  as  he  felt 
himself  gradually  loosened  from  the  grasp  of  the  world, 
his  thought  and  feelings  took  the  natural  direction;  for 
if  it  be  true  that  death  is  the  great  leveler,  in  nothing  is 
it  more  true  than  that  it  reduces  all  to  the  same  views  of 
the  vanity  of  life. 

Pathfinder,  though  a  man  of  peculiar  habits  and  opin 
ions,  was  always  thoughtful,  and  disposed  to  view  the 
things  around  him  with  a  shade  of  philosophy,  as  well  as 
with  seriousness.  In  him,  therefore,  the  scene  in  the 
blockhouse  awakened  no  very  novel  feelings.  But  the  case 
was  different  with  Cap;  rude,  opinionated,  dogmatical, 
and  boisterous,  the  old  sailor  was  little  accustomed  to 
view  even  death  with  any  approach  to  the  gravity  which 
Us  importance  demands;  and  notwithstanding  all  that  had 

443 


444  THE  PATHFINDER 

passed,  and  his  real  regard  for  his  brother-in-law,  he  now 
entered  the  room  of  the  dying  man  with  much  of  that 
callous  unconcern  which  was  the  fruit  of  long  training  in 
a  school  that,  while  it  gives  so  many  lessons  in  the  sub- 
limest  truths,  generally  wastes  its  admonitions  on  scholars 
who  are  little  disposed  to  profit  by  them. 

The  first  proof  that  Cap  gave  of  his  not  entering  so  fully 
as  those  around  him  into  the  solemnity  of  the  moment, 
was  by  commencing  a  narration  of  the  events  which  had 
just  led  to  the  deaths  of  Muir  and  Arrowhead.  "Both 
tripped  their  anchors  in  a  hurry,  brother  Dunham,"  he 
concluded;  "and  you  have  the  consolation  of  knowing 
that  others  have  gone  before  you  in  the  great  journey,  and 
they,  too,  men  whom  you've  no  particular  reason  to  love; 
which  to  me,  were  I  placed  in  your  situation,  would  be  a 
source  of  very  great  satisfaction.  My  mother  always  said 
Master  Pathfinder,  that  dying  people's  spirits  should  not 
be  damped,  but  that  they  ought  to  be  encouraged  by  all 
proper  and  prudent  means;  and  this  news  will  give  the 
poor  fellow  a  great  lift,  if  he  feels  towards  them  savages 
any  way  as  I  feel  myself. ' ' 

June  arose  at  this  intelligence,  and  stole  from  the  block, 
house  with  a  noiseless  step.  Dunham  listened  with  a 
vacant  stare,  for  life  had  already  lost  so  many  of  its  ties 
that  he  had  really  forgotten  Arrowhead,  and  cared  nothing 
for  Muir;  but  he  inquired,  in  a  feeble  voice,  for  Eau- 
douce.  The  young  man  was  immediately  summoned,  and 
soon  made  his  appearance.  The  sergeant  gazed  at  him 
kindly,  and  the  expression  of  his  eyes  was  that  of  regret 
for  the  injury  he  had  done  him  in  thought.  The  party  in 
the  blockhouse  now  consisted  of  Pathfinder,  Cap,  Mabel, 
Jasper,  and  the  dying  man.  With  the  exception  of  the 
daughter,  all  stood  around  the  sergeant's  pallet,  in  atten 
dance  on  his  last  moments.  Mabel  kneeled  at  his  side, 
now  pressing  a  clammy  hand  to  her  head,  now  applying 
moisture  to  the  parched  lips  of  her  father. 

"Your  case  will  shortly  be  ourn,  sergeant, "  said  Path 
finder,  who  could  hardly  be  said  to  be  awestruck  by  the 
scene,  for  he  had  witnessed  the  approach  and  victories  of 
death  too  often  for  that;  but  who  felt  the  full  difference 
between  his  triumphs  in  the  excitement  of  battle  and  in 


THE  PATHFINDER  445 

the  quiet  of  the  domestic  circle;  "and  I  make  no  question 
we  shall  meet  ag'in  hereafter.  Arrowhead  has  gone  his 
way,  'tis  true  but  it  can  never  be  the  way  of  a  just  Indian. 
You've  seen  the  last  of  him,  for  his  path  cannot  be  the 
path  of  the  just.  Reason  is  ag'in  the  thought  in  his  case, 
as  it  is  also,  in  my  judgment,  ag'in  it,  too,  in  the  case  of 
Lieutenant  Muir.  You  have  done  your  duty  in  life  and 
when  a  man  does  that,  he  may  start  on  the  longest  journey 
with  a  light  heart  and  an  actyve  foot." 

"I  hope  so,  my  friend  I've  tried  to  do  my  duty." 

"Ay,  ay,"  put  in  Cap  "intention  is  half  the  battle  and 
though  you  would  have  done  better  had  you  hove-to  in 
the  offing  and  sent  a  craft  in  to  feel  how  the  land  lay, 
things  might  have  turned  out  differently  no  one  here 
doubts  that  you  meant  all  for  the  best,  and  no  one  any 
where  else,  I  should  think,  from  what  I've  seen  of  this 
world  and  read  of  t'other." 

"I  did  yes.     I  meant  all  for  the  best." 

' '  Father !     Oh,  my  beloved  father ! ' ' 

"Magnet  is  taken  aback  by  this  blow,  Master  Pathfinder, 
and  can  say  or  do  but  little  to  carry  her  father  over  the 
shoals  so  we  must  try  all  the  harder  to  serve  him  a  friendly 
turn  ourselves." 

"Did  you  speak,  Mabel?"  Dunham  asked,  turning  his 
eyes  in  the  direction  of  his  daughter,  for  he  was  already 
too  feeble  to  turn  his  body. 

"Yes,  father;  rely  on  nothing  you  have  done  yourself 
for  mercy  and  salvation;  trust  altogether  in  the  blessed 
mediation  of  the  Son  of  God!" 

"The  chaplain  has  told  us  something  like  this,  brother. 
The  dear  child  may  be  right." 

"Ay,  ay,  that's  doctrine,  out  of  question.  He  will  be 
our  judge,  and  keeps  the  log-book  of  our  acts,  and  will 
foot  them  all  up  at  the  last  day,  and  then  say  who  has 
done  well  and  who  has  done  ill.  I  do  believe  Mabel  is 
right;  but  then  you  need  not  be  concerned,  as  no  doubt 
the  account  has  been  fairly  kept." 

"Uncle! — dearest  father!  this  is  a  vain  illusion!  Oh, 
place  all  your  trust  in  the  mediation  of  our  Holy  Redeemer! 
Have  you  not  often  felt  your  own  insufficiency  to  effect 
your  own  wishes  in  the  commonest  things?  and  how  can 


446  THE  PATHFINDER 

you  imagine  yourself,  by  your  own  acts,  equal  to  raise  up 
a  frail  and  sinful  nature  sufficiently  to  be  received  into 
the  presence  of  perfect  purity?  There  is  no  hope  for  any 
but  in  the  mediation  of  Christ!" 

"This  is  what  the  Moravians  used  to  tell  us,"  said 
Pathfinder  to  Cap  in  a  low  voice;  "rely  on  it,  Mabel  is 
right." 

"Right  enough,  friend  Pathfinder,  in  the  distances,  but 
wrong  in  the  course.  I'm  afraid  the  child  will  get  the 
sergeant  adrift,  at  the  very  moment  when  we  had  him  in 
the  best  of  the  water  and  in  the  plainest  part  of  the 
channel." 

"Leave  it  to  Mabel,  leave  it  to  Mabel;  she  knows  better 
than  any  of  us,  and  can  do  no  harm." 

"I  have  heard  this  before, "  Dunham  at  length  replied. 
"Ah,  Mabel!  it  is  strange  for  the  parent  to  lean  on  the 
child  at  a  moment  like  this!" 

"Put  your  trust  in  God,  father;  lean  on  His  holy  and 
compassionate  Son.  Pray,  dearest,  dearest  father;  pray 
for  His  omnipotent  support. ' ' 

"I  am  not  used  to  prayer.  Brother,  Pathfinder — Jasper, 
can  you  help  me  to  words?" 

Cap  scarcely  knew  what  prayer  meant,  and  he  had  no 
answer  to  give.  Pathfinder  prayed  often,  daily,  if  not 
hourly;  but  it  was  mentally,  in  his  own  simple  modes  of 
thinking,  and  without  the  aid  of  words  at  all.  In  this 
strait,  therefore,  he  was  as  useless  as  the  mariner,  and 
had  no  reply  to  make.  As  for  Jasper  Eau-douce,  though 
he  would  gladly  have  endeavored  to  move  a  mountain  to 
relieve  Mabel,  this  was  asking  assistance  it  exceeded  his 
power  to  give;  and  he  shrank  back  with  the  shame  that  is 
only  too  apt  to  overcome  the  young  and  vigorous,  when 
called  on  to  perform  an  act  that  tacitly  confesses  their 
real  weakness  and  dependence  on  a  superior  power. 

"Father,"  said  Mabel,  wiping  her  eyes,  and  endeavor 
ing  to  compose  features  that  were  pallid,  and  actually 
quivering  with  emotion,  "/will  pray  with  you,  for  you, 
for  myself  for  us  all.  The  petition  of  the  feeblest  and 
humblest  is  never  unheeded." 

There  was  something  sublime,  as  well  as  much  that  was 
supremely  touching,  in  this  act  of  filial  piety.  The  quiet 


THE  PATHFINDER  447 

but  earnest  manner  in  which  this  young  creature  prepared 
herself  to  perform  the  duty;  the  self-abandonment  with 
which  she  forgot  her  sex's  timidity  and  sex's  shame,  in 
order  to  sustain  her  parent  at  that  trying  moment;  the 
loftiness  of  purpose  with  which  she  directed  all  her  powers 
to  the  immense  object  before  her,  with  a  woman's  devo 
tion  and  a  woman's  superiority  to  trifles,  when  her  affec 
tions  make  the  appeal;  and  the  holy  calm  into  which  her 
grief  was  compressed,  rendered  her,  for  the  moment,  an 
object  of  something  very  like  awe  and  veneration  to  her 
companions. 

Mabel  had  been  religiously  educated;  equally  without 
exaggeration  and  without  self -sufficiency.  Her  reliance 
on  God  was  cheerful  and  full  of  hope,  while  it  was  of  the 
humblest  and  most  dependent  nature.  She  had  been  ac 
customed  from  childhood  to  address  herself  to  the  Deity 
in  prayer;  taking  example  from  the  Divine  mandate  of 
Christ  Himself,  who  commanded  His  followers  to  abstain 
from  vain  repetitions,  and  who  has  left  behind  Him  a  pe 
tition  which  is  unequaled  for  sublimity,  as  if  expressly  to 
rebuke  the  disposition  of  man  to  set  up  his  own  loose  and 
random  thoughts  as  the  most  acceptable  sacrifice.  The 
sect  in  which  she  had  been  reared  has  furnished  to  its 
followers  some  of  the  most  beautiful  compositions  in  the 
language,  as  a  suitable  vehicle  for  its  devotion  and  solici 
tations.  Accustomed  to  this  mode  of  public  and  even 
private  prayer,  the  mind  of  our  heroine  had  naturally 
fallen  into  its  train  of  lofty  thought;  her  task  had  become 
improved  by  its  study,  and  her  language  elevated  and  en 
riched  by  its  phrases.  When  she  kneeled  at  the  bedside 
of  her  father,  the  very  reverence  of  her  attitude  and  man 
ner  prepared  the  spectators  for  what  was  to  come;  and  as 
her  affectionate  heart  prompted  her  tongue,  and  memory 
came  in  aid  of  both,  the  petition  and  praises  that  she 
offered  up  were  of  a  character  which  might  have  worthily 
led  the  spirits  of  angels.  Although  the  words  were  not 
slavishly  borrowed,  the  expressions  partook  of  the  simple 
dignity  of  the  liturgy  to  which  she  had  been  accustomed, 
and  was  probably  as  worthy  of  the  Being  to  whom  they 
were  addressed  as  they  could  well  be  made  by  human 
powers.  They  produced  their  full  impression  on  the 


448  THE  PATHFINDER 

hearers;  for  it  is  worthy  of  remark,  that,  notwithstanding 
the  pernicious  effects  of  a  false  taste  when  long  submitted 
to,  real  sublimity  and  beauty  are  so  closely  allied  to  nature 
that  they  generally  find  an  echo  in  every  heart. 

But  when  our  heroine  came  to  touch  upon  the  situation 
of  the  dying  man,  she  became  the  most  truly  persuasive, 
for  then  she  was  the  most  truly  zealous  and  natural.  The 
beauty  of  the  language  was  preserved,  but  it  was  sustained 
by  the  simple  power  of  love;  and  her  words  were  warmed 
by  a  holy  zeal,  that  approached  to  the  grandeur  of  true 
eloquence.  We  might  record  some  of  her  expressions,  but 
doubt  the  propriety  of  subjecting  such  sacred  themes  to  a 
too  familiar  analysis,  and  refrain. 

The  effect  of  this  singular  but  solemn  scene  was  differ 
ent  on  the  different  individuals  present.  Dunham  himself 
was  soon  lost  in  the  subject  of  the  prayer;  and  he  felt 
some  such  relief  as  one  who  finds  himself  staggering  on 
the  edge  of  a  precipice,  under  a  burthen  difficult  to  be 
borne,  might  be  supposed  to  experience  when  he  unexpec 
tedly  feels  the  weight  removed,  in  order  to  be  placed  on 
the  shoulders  of  another  better  able  to  sustain  it.  Cap 
was  surprised,  as  well  as  awed;  though  the  effects  on  his 
mind  were  not  very  deep  or  very  lasting.  He  wondered  a 
little  at  his  own  sensations,  and  had  his  doubts  whether 
they  were  so  manly  and  heroic  as  they  ought  to  be;  but  he 
was  far  too  sensible  of  the  influence  of  truth,  humility, 
religious  submission,  and  human  dependency,  to  think  of 
interposing  with  any  of  his  crude  objections.  Jasper 
knelt  opposite  to  Mabel,  covered  his  face,  and  followed 
her  words,  with  an  earnest  wish  to  aid  her  prayers  with 
his  own;  though  it  may  be  questioned  if  his  thoughts  did 
not  dwell  quite  as  much  on  the  soft,  gentle  accents  of  the 
petitioner  as  on  the  subject  of  her  petition. 

The  effect  on  Pathfinder  was  striking  and  visible;  visi 
ble,  because  he  stood  erect,  also  opposite  to  Mabel ;  and 
the  workings  of  his  countenance,  as  usual,  betrayed  the 
workings  of  the  spirit  within.  He  leaned  on  his  rifle,  and 
at  moments  the  sinewy  fingers  grasped  the  barrel  with  a 
force  that  seemed  to  compress  the  weapon;  while,  once  or 
twice,  as  Mabel's  language  rose  in  intimate  association 
with  her  thoughts,  he  lifted  his  eyes  to  the  floor  above 


THE  PATHFINDER  449 

him,  as  if  he  expected  to  find  some  visible  evidence  of  the 
presence  of  the  dread  Being  to  whom  the  words  were 
addressed.  Then  again  his  feelings  reverted  to  the  fair 
creature  who  was  thus  pouring  out  her  spirit,  in  fervent 
but  calm  petitions,  in  behalf  of  a  dying  parent;  for 
Mabel's  cheek  was  no  longer  pallid,  but  was  flushed  with 
a  holy  enthusiasm,  while  her  blue  eyes  were  upturned  in 
the  light,  in  a  way  to  resemble  a  picture  by  Guido.  At 
these  moments  all  the  honest  and  manly  attachment  of 
Pathfinder  glowed  in  his  ingenuous  features,  and  his  gaze 
at  our  heroine  was  such  as  the  fondest  parent  might  fasten 
on  the  child  of  his  love. 

Sergeant  Dunham  laid  his  hand  feebly  on  the  head  of 
Mabel  as  she  ceased  praying,  and  buried  her  face  in  his 
blanket. 

"Bless  you,  my  beloved  child!  bless  you!"  he  rather 
whispered  than  uttered  aloud;  "this  is  truly  consolation; 
would  that  I,  too,  could  pray!" 

"Father,  you  know  the  Lord's  Prayer;  you  taught  it  to 
me  yourself  while  I  was  yet  an  infant." 

The  sergeant's  face  gleamed  with  a  smile,  for  he  did 
remember  to  have  discharged  that  portion  at  least  of  the 
paternal  duty,  and  the  consciousness  of  it  gave  him  incon 
ceivable  gratification  at  that  solemn  moment.  He  was 
then  silent  for  several  minutes,  and  all  present  believed 
that  he  was  communing  with  God. 

"Mabel,  my  child!"  he  at  length  uttered,  in  a  voice 
which  seemed  to  be  reviving,  "Mabel,  I'm  quitting  you." 
The  spirit  at  its  great  and  final  passage  appears  ever  to 
consider  the  body  as  nothing.  "I'm  quitting  you,  my 
child;  where  is  your  hand?" 

"Here,  dearest  father — here  are  both— oh,  take  both!" 

"Pathfinder,"  added  the  sergeant,  feeling  on  the  oppo 
site  side  of  the  bed,  where  Jasper  still  knelt,  and  getting 
one  of  the  hands  of  the  young  man  by  mistake,  "take  it 
— I  leave  you  as  her  father — as  you  and  she  may  please — 
bless  you— bless  you  both!" 

At  that  awful  instant,  no  one  would  rudely  apprise  the 

sergeant  of  his  mistake;  and  he  died  a  minute  or  two  later, 

holding  Jasper's  and  Mabel's  hands  covered  by  both  his 

own.     Our  heroine  was  ignorant  of  the  fact  until  an  ex- 

29 


450  THE  PATHFINDER 

clamation  of  Cap's  announced  the  death  of  her  father; 
when,  raising  her  face,  she  saw  the  eyes  of  Jasper  riveted 
on  her  own,  and  felt  the  warm  pressure  of  his  hand.  But 
a  single  feeling  was  predominant  at  that  instant,  and 
Mabel  withdrew  to  weep,  scarcely  conscious  of  what  had 
occurred.  The  Pathfinder  took  the  arm  of  Eau-douce, 
and  he  left  the  block. 

The  two  friends  walked  in  silence  past  the  fire,  along 
the  glade,  and  nearly  reached  the  opposite  shore  of  the 
island  in  profound  silence.  Here  they  stopped,  and  Path 
finder  spoke. 

"  'Tis  all  over,  Jasper,"  said  he,  "  'tis  all  over.  Ah's 
me!  Poor  Sergeant  Dunham  has  finished  his  march,  and 
that,  too,  by  the  hand  of  a  venomous  Mingo.  Well,  we 
never  know  what  is  to  happen,  and  his  luck  may  be  yourn 
or  mine  to-morrow  or  next  day!" 

"And  Mabel?  What  is  to  become  of  Mabel,  Path 
finder?" 

"You  heard  the  sergeant's  dying  words;  he  has  left 
his  child  in  my  care,  Jasper;  and  it  is  a  most  solemn 
trust,  it  is;  yes — it  is  a  most  solemn  trust." 

"It's  a  trust,  Pathfinder,  of  which  any  man  would  be 
glad  to  relieve  you,"  returned  the  youth,  with  a  bitter 
smile. 

"I've  often  thought  it  has  fallen  into  wrong  hands. 
I'm  not  consaited,  Jasper;  I'm  not  consaited,  I  do  think 
I'm  not;  but  if  Mabel  Dunham  is  willing  to  overlook  all 
my  imperfections  and  ignorances  like,  I  should  be  wrong 
to  gainsay  it,  on  account  of  any  sartainty  I  may  have  my 
self  about  my  own  want  of  merit." 

"No  one  will  blame  you,  Pathfinder,  for  marrying 
Mabel  Dunham,  any  more  than  they  will  blame  you  for 
wearing  a  precious  jewel  in  your  bosom  that  a  friend  had 
freely  given  you." 

"Do  you  think  they'll  blame  Mabel,  lad?  I've  had  my 
misgivings  about  that,  too;  for  all  persons  may  not  be  so 
disposed  to  look  at  me  with  the  same  eyes  as  you  and  the 
sergeant's  daughter." 

Jasper  Eau-douce  started  as  a  man  flinches  at  sudden 
bodily  pain;  but  he  otherwise  maintained  his  self-com 
mand.  "And  mankind  is  envious  and  ill-natured,  more 


THE  PATHFINDER  451 

particularly  in  and  about  the  garrisons.  I  sometimes 
wish,  Jasper,  that  Mabel  could  have  taken  a  fancy  to  you 
— I  do;  and  that  you  had  taken  a  fancy  to  her;  for  it  of  ten 
seems  to  me  that  one  like  you,  after  all,  might  make  her 
happier  than  I  ever  can. ' ' 

"We  wil)  not  talk  about  this,  Pathfinder,"  interrupted 
Jasper  hoarsely  and  impatiently;  "you  will  be  Mabel's 
husband,  and  it  is  not  right  to  speak  of  anyone  else  in 
that  character.  As  for  me,  I  shall  take  Master  Cap's  ad 
vice,  and  try  and  make  a  man  of  myself  by  seeing  what  is 
to  be  done  on  the  salt  water. ' ' 

"You,  Jasper  Western! — you  quit  the  lakes,  the  forests, 
and  the  lines;  and  this,  too,  for  the  towns  and  wasty  ways 
of  the  settlements,  and  a  little  difference  in  the  taste  of 
the  water.  Haven't  we  the  salt-licks,  if  salt  is  necessary 
to  you?  and  oughtn't  man  to  be  satisfied  with  what  con 
tents  the  other  creatur's  of  God?  I  counted  on  you,  Jasper, 
I  counted  on  you,  I  did;  and  thought,  now  that  Mabel  and 
I  intend  to  dwell  in  a  cabin  of  our  own,  that  some  day 
you  might  be  tempted  to  choose  a  companion,  too,  and 
come  and  settle  in  our  neighborhood.  There  is  a  beauti 
ful  spot,  about  fifty  miles  west  of  the  garrison,  that  I  had 
chosen  in  my  mind  for  my  own  place  of  abode;  and  there 
is  an  excellent  harbor  about  ten  leagues  this  side  of  it 
where  you  could  run  in  and  out  with  the  cutter  at  any 
leisure  minute;  and  I'd  even  fancied  you  and  your  wife  in 
possession  of  the  one  place,  and  Mabel  and  I  in  possession 
of  t'other.  We  should  be  just  a  healthy  hunt  apart;  and 
if  the  Lord  ever  intends  any  of  His  creatur's  to  be  happy 
on  'arth,  none  could  be  happier  than  we  four." 

"You  forget,  my  friend,"  answered  Jasper,  taking  the 
guide's  hand  and  forcing  a  friendly  smile,  "that  I  have 
no  fourth  person  to  love  and  cherish;  and  I  much  doubt  if 
I  ever  shall  love  any  other  as  I  love  you  and  Mabel." 

" Thank' e,  boy;  I  thank  you  with  all  my  heart;  but 
what  you  call  love  for  Mabel  is  only  friendship  like,  and 
a  very  different  thing  from  what  I  feel.  Now,  instead  of 
sleeping  as  sound  as  natur'  at  midnight,  as  I  used  to 
could,  I  dream  nightly  of  Mabel  Dunham.  The  young 
does  sport  before  me;  and  when  I  raise  Killdeer,  in  order 
to  take  a  little  venison,  the  animals  look  back,  and  it 


452  THE  PATHFINDER 

seems  as  if  they  all  had  Mabel's  sweet  countenance,  laugh 
ing  in  my  face,  and  looking  as  if  they  said,  'Shoot  me  if 
you  dare!'  Then  I  hear  her  soft  voice  calling  out  among 
the  birds  as  they  sing;  and  no  later  than  the  last  nap  I 
took,  I  bethought  me,  in  fancy,  of  going  over  the  Niagara, 
holding  Mabel  in  my  arms,  rather  than  part  from  her. 
The  bitterest  moments  I've  ever  known  were  them  in 
which  the  devil,  or  some  Mingo  conjuror,  perhaps,  has 
just  put  into  my  head  to  fancy  in  dreams  that  Mabel  is 
lost  to  me  by  some  unaccountable  calamity — either  by 
changefulness  or  by  violence." 

"Oh  Pathfinder!  if  you  think  this  so  bitter  in  a  dream, 
what  must  it  be  to  one  who  feels  its  reality,  and  knows  it 
all  to  be  true,  true,  true?  So  true  as  to  leave  no  hope; 
to  leave  nothing  but  despair!" 

These  words  burst  from  Jasper  as  a  fluid  pours  from 
the  vessel  that  has  been  suddenly  broken.  They  were 
uttered  involuntarily,  almost  unconsciously,  but  with  a 
truth  and  feeling  that  carried  with  them  the  instant  con 
viction  of  their  deep  sincerity.  Pathfinder  started,  gazed 
at  his  friend  for  full  a  minute  like  one  bewildered,  and 
then  it  was  that,  in  despite  of  all  his  simplicity,  the  truth 
gleamed  upon  him.  All  know  how  corroborating  proofs 
crowd  upon  the  mind  as  soon  as  it  catches  a  direct  clue  to 
any  hitherto  unsuspected  fact;  how  rapidly  the  thoughts 
flow  and  premises  tend  to  their  just  conclusions  under 
such  circumstances.  Our  hero  was  so  confiding  by  nature, 
so  just,  and  so  much  disposed  to  imagine  that  all  his 
friends  wished  him  the  same  happiness  as  he  wished  them, 
that,  until  this  unfortunate  moment,  a  suspicion  of  Jas 
per's  attachment  for  Mabel  had  never  been  awakened  in 
his  bosom.  He  was,  however,  now  too  experienced  in  the 
emotions  which  characterize  the  passion;  and  the  burst  of 
feeling  in  his  companion  was  too  violent  and  too  natural 
to  leave  any  further  doubt  on  the  subject.  The  feeling 
that  first  followed  this  change  of  opinion  was  one  of  deep 
humility  and  exquisite  pain.  He  bethought  him  of  Jas 
per's  youth,  his  higher  claims  to  personal  appearance,  and 
all  the  general  probabilities  that  such  a  suitor  would  be 
more  agreeable  to  Mabel  than  he  could  possibly  be  him 
self.  Then  the  noble  rectitude  of  mind,  for  which  the 


THE  PATHFINDER  453 

man  was  so  distinguished,  asserted  its  power;  it  was  sus 
tained  by  his  rebuked  manner  of  thinking  of  himself,  and 
all  that  habitual  deference  for  the  rights  and  feelings  of 
others  which  appeared  to  be  inbred  in  his  very  nature. 
Taking  the  arm  of  Jasper,  he  led  him  to  a  log,  where  he 
compelled  the  young  man  to  seat  himself  by  a  sort  of  irre 
sistible  exercise  of  his  iron  muscles,  and  where  he  placed 
himself  at  his  side. 

The  instant  his  feelings  had  found  vent,  Eau-douce  was 
both  alarmed  at,  and  ashamed  of,  their  violence.  He 
would  have  given  all  he  possessed  on  earth  could  the  last 
three  minutes  be  recalled;  but  he  was  too  frank  by  dis 
position  and  too  much  accustomed  to  deal  ingenuously  by 
his  friend  to  think  a  moment  of  attempting  further  con 
cealment,  or  of  any  evasion  of  the  explanation  that  he 
knew  was  about  to  be  demanded.  Even  while  he  trem 
bled  in  anticipation  of  what  was  about  to  follow,  he 
never  contemplated  equivocation. 

"Jasper,"  Pathfinder  commenced,  in  a  tone  so  solemn 
as  to  thrill  on  every  nerve  in  his  listener's  body,  "this  has 
surprised  me!  You  have  kinder  feelings  towards  Mabel 
than  I  had  thought;  and,  unless  my  own  mistaken  vanity 
and  consait  have  cruelly  deceived  me,  I  pity  you,  boy, 
from  my  soul  I  do!  Yes,  I  think  I  know  how  to  pity 
anyone  who  has  set  his  heart  on  a  creature  like  Mabel, 
unless  he  sees  a  prospect  of  her  regarding  him  as  he  re 
gards  her.  This  matter  must  be  cleared  up,  Eau-douce, 
as  the  Delawares  say,  until  there  shall  not  be  a  cloud 
atween  us." 

"What  clearing  up  can  it  want,  Pathfinder?  I  love 
Mabel  Dunham,  and  Mabel  Dunham  does  not  love  me; 
she  prefers  you  for  a  husband;  and  the  wisest  thing  I  can 
do  is  to  go  off  at  once  to  the  salt  water,  and  try  to  forget 
you  both." 

"Forget  me,  Jasper!  that  would  be  a  punishment  I 
don't  desarve.  But  how  do  you  know  that  Mabel  prefars 
me?  how  do  you  know  it,  lad?  Tome  it  seems  impossible 
like!" 

"Is  she  not  to  marry  you,  and  would  Mabel  marry  a 
man  she  does  not  love?" 

"She  has  been  hard  urged  by  the  sergeant,  she  has; 


454  THE  PATHFINDER 

and  a  dutiful  child  may  have  found  it  difficult  to  with 
stand  the  wishes  of  a  dying  parent.  Have  you  ever  told 
Mabel  that  you  prefarred  her,  Jasper — that  you  bore  her 
these  feelings?" 

"Never,  Pathfinder.     I  would  not  do  you  that  wrong." 

"I  believe  you,  lad,  I  do  believe  you;  and  I  think  you 
would  now  go  off  to  the  salt  water,  and  let  the  scent  die 
with  you.  But  this  must  not  be.  Mabel  shall  hear  all, 
and  she  shall  have  her  own  way,  if  my  heart  breaks  in  the 
trial,  she  shall.  No  words  have  ever  passed  atween  you, 
then,  Jasper?" 

"Nothing  of  account,  nothing  direct.  Still,  I  will 
own  all  my  foolishness,  Pathfinder;  for  I  ought  to  own  it 
to  a  generous  friend  like  you,  and  there  will  be  an  end  of 
it.  You  know  how  young  people  understand  each  other, 
or  think  they  understand  each  other,  without  always 
speaking  out  in  plain  speech,  and  get  to  know  each  other's 
thoughts,  or  to  think  they  know  them,  by  means  of  a 
hundred  little  ways." 

"Not  I,  Jasper,  not  I,"  truly  answered  the  guide;  for, 
sooth  to  say,  his  advances  had  never  been  met  with  any  of 
that  sweet  and  precious  encouragement  which  silently 
marks  the  course  of  sympathy  united  to  passion.  "Not  I, 
Jasper;  I  know  nothing  of  all  this.  Mabel  has  always 
treated  me  fairly,  and  said  what  she  has  had  to  say  in 
speech  as  plain  as  tongue  could  tell  it." 

"You  have  had  the  pleasure  of  hearing  her  say  that  she 
loved  you,  Pathfinder?" 

"Why,  no,  Jasper,  not  just  that  in  words.  She  has  told 
me  that  we  never  could,  never  ought  to  be  married;  that 
she  was  not  good  enough  for  me,  though  she  did  say  that 
she  honored  me  and  respected  me.  But  then  the  sergeant 
said  it  was  always  so  with  the  youthful  and  timid;  that 
her  mother  did  so  and  said  so  afore  her;  and  that  I  ought 
to  be  satisfied  if  she  would  consent  on  any  terms  to  marry 
me,  and  therefore  I  have  concluded  that  all  was  right,  I 
have. ' ' 

In  spite  of  all  his  friendship  for  the  successful  wooer, 
in  spite  of  all  his  honest,  sincere  wishes  for  his  happi 
ness,  we  should  be  unfaithful  chroniclers  did  we  not  own 
that  Jasper  felt  his  heart  bound  with  an  uncontrollable 


THE  PATHFINDER  455 

feeling  of  delight  at  this  admission.  It  was  not  that  he 
saw  or  felt  any  hope  connected  with  the  circumstance;  but 
it  was  grateful  to  the  jealous  covetousness  of  unlimited 
love  thus  to  learn  that  no  other  ears  had  heard  the  sweet 
confessions  that  were  denied  its  own. 

"Tell  me  more  of  this  manner  of  talking  without  the 
use  of  the  tongue, ' '  continued  Pathfinder,  whose  counte 
nance  was  becoming  grave,  and  who  now  questioned  his 
companion  like  one  who  seemed  to  anticipate  evil  in  the 
reply.  "I  can  and  have  conversed  with  Chingachgook, 
and  with  his  son  Uncas,  too,  in  that  mode,  afore  the 
latter  fell;  but  I  didn't  know  that  young  girls  practysed 
this  art,  and,  least  of  all,  Mabel  Dunham." 

"  'Tis  nothing,  Pathfinder.  I  mean  only  a  look,  or  a 
smile,  or  a  glance  of  the  eye,  or  the  trembling  of  an  arm 
or  a  hand  when  the  young  woman  has  had  occasion  to 
touch  me ;  and  because  I  have  been  weak  enough  to  trem 
ble  even  at  Mabel's  breath,  or  her  brushing  me  with  her 
clothes,  my  vain  thoughts  have  misled  me.  I  never  spoke 
plainly  to  Mabel  myself,  and  now  there  is  no  use  for  it, 
since  there  is  clearly  no  hope." 

"Jasper,"  returned  Pathfinder  simply,  but  with  a  dig 
nity  that  precluded  further  remarks  at  the  moment,  "we 
will  talk  of  the  sergeant's  funeral  and  of  our  own  de 
parture  from  this  island.  After  these  things  are  disposed 
of,  it  will  be  time  enough  to  say  more  of  the  sergeant's 
daughter.  This  matter  must  be  looked  into,  for  the  father 
left  me  the  care  of  his  child." 

Jasper  was  glad  enough  to  change  the  subject,  and  the 
friends  separated,  each  charged  with  the  duty  most  pe 
culiar  to  his  own  station  and  habits. 

That  afternoon  all  the  dead  were  interred,  the  grave  of 
Sergeant  Dunham  being  dug  in  the  center  of  the  glade, 
beneath  the  shade  of  a  huge  elm.  Mabel  wept  bitterly  at 
the  ceremony,  and  she  found  relief  in  thus  disburdening 
her  sorrow.  The  night  passed  tranquilly,  as  did  the 
whole  of  the  following  day,  Jasper  declaring  that  the  gals 
v/as  too  severe  to  venture  on  the  lake.  This  circumstance 
detained  Captain  Sanglier  also,  who  did  not  quit  the 
island  until  the  morning  of  the  third  day  after  the  death 
of  Dunham,  when  the  weather  had  moderated,  and  the 


456  THE  PATHFINDER 

wind  had  become  fair.  Then,  indeed,  he  departed,  after 
taking  leave  of  the  Pathfinder,  in  the  manner  of  one  who 
believed  he  was  in  company  of  a  distinguished  character 
for  the  last  time.  The  two  separated  like  those  who  re 
spect  one  another,  while  each  felt  that  the  other  was  an 
enigma  to  himself. 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

"  Playful  she  turn'd  that  he  might  see 

The  passing-  smile  her  cheek  put  on  ; 
But  when  she  marked  how  mournfully 
His  eyes  met  hers,  that  smile  was  gone." 

— LALLA  ROOKH. 

THE  occurrences  of  the  last  few  days  had  been  too  ex 
citing,  and  had  made  too  many  demands  on  the  fortitude 
of  our  heroine,  to  leave  her  in  the  helplessness  of  grief. 
She  mourned  for  her  father,  and  she  occasionally  shud 
dered  as  she  recalled  the  sudden  death  of  Jennie,  and  all 
the  horrible  scenes  she  had  witnessed ;  but  on  the  whole 
she  had  aroused  herself,  and  was  no  longer  in  the  deep 
depression  which  usually  accompanies  grief.  Perhaps 
the  overwhelming,  almost  stupefying  sorrow  that  crushed 
poor  June,  and  left  her  for  nearly  twenty-four  hours  in  a 
state  of  stupor,  assisted  Mabel  in  conquering  her  own 
feelings,  for  she  had  felt  called  on  to  administer  consola 
tion  to  the  young  Indian  woman.  This  she  had  done  in 
the  quiet,  soothing,  insinuating  way  in  which  her  sex 
usually  exerts  its  influence  on  such  occasions. 

The  morning  of  the  third  day  was  set  for  that  on  which 
the  Scud  was  to  sail.  Jasper  had  made  all  his  prepara 
tions;  the  different  effects  were  embarked,  and  Mabel  had 
taken  leave  of  June,  a  painful  and  affectionate  parting. 
In  a  word,  all  was  ready,  and  every  soul  had  left  the 
island  but  the  Indian  woman,  Pathfinder,  Jasper,  and  our 
heroine.  The  former  had  gone  into  a  thicket  to  weep, 
and  the  three  last  were  approaching  the  spot  where  three 
canoes  lay,  one  of  which  was  the  property  of  June,  and 
the  other  two  were  in  waiting  to  carry  the  others  off  to 
the  Scud.  Pathfinder  led  the  way,  but,  when  he  drew 
near  the  shore,  instead  of  taking  the  direction  to  the 
boats,  he  motioned  to  his  companions  to  follow,  and  pro 
ceeded  to  a  fallen  tree,  which  lay  on  the  margin  of  the 
glade  and  out  of  view  of  those  in  the  cutter.  Seating 

457 


458  THE  PATHFINDER 

himself  on  the  trunk,  he  signed  to  Mabel  to  take  her  place 
on  one  side  of  him  and  to  Jasper  to  occupy  the  other. 

"Sit  down  here,  Mabel;  sit  down  there,  Eau-douce," 
he  commenced,  as  soon  as  he  had  taken  his  own  seat. 
"I've  something  that  lies  heavy  on  my  mind,  and  now  is 
the  time  to  take  it  off,  if  it's  ever  to  be  done.  Sit  down, 
Mabel,  and  let  me  lighten  my  heart,  if  not  my  conscience, 
while  I've  the  strength  to  do  it." 

The  pause  that  succeeded  lasted  two  or  three  minutes, 
and  both  the  young  people  wondered  what  was  to  come 
next;  the  idea  that  Pathfinder  could  have  any  weight  on 
his  conscience  seeming  equally  improbable  to  each. 

"Mabel,"  our  hero  at  length  resumed,  "we  must  talk 
plainly  to  each  other  afore  we  join  your  uncle  in  the 
cutter,  where  the  Saltwater  has  slept  every  night  since 
the  last  rally,  for  he  says  it's  the  only  place  in  which  a 
man  can  be  sure  of  keeping  the  hair  on  his  head,  he  does. 
Ah's  me!  what  have  I  to  do  with  these  follies  and  sayings 
now?  I  try  to  be  pleasant,  and  to  feel  light-hearted,  but 
the  power  of  man  can't  make  water  run  up  stream. 
Mabel,  you  know  that  the  sergeant,  afore  he  left  us,  had 
settled  it  atween  us  two  that  we  were  to  become  man  and 
wife,  and  that  we  were  to  live  together  and  to  love  one 
another  as  long  as  the  Lord  was  pleased  to  keep  us  both 
on  'arth;  yes,  and  afterwards,  too?" 

Mabel's  cheeks  had  regained  a  little  of  their  ancient 
bloom  in  the  fresh  air  of  the  morning;  but  at  this  un 
looked-for  address  they  blanched  again,  nearly  to  the 
pallid  hue  which  grief  had  imprinted  there.  Still,  she 
looked  kindly,  though  seriously,  at  Pathfinder,  and  even 
endeavored  to  force  a  smile. 

"Very  true,  my  excellent  friend,"  she  answered;  "this 
was  my  poor  father's  wish,  and  I  feel  certain  that  a  whole 
life  devoted  to  your  welfare  and  comforts  could  scarcely 
repay  you  for  all  you  have  done  for  us." 

"I  fear  me,  Mabel,  that  man  and  wife  needs  be  bound 
together  by  a  stronger  tie  than  such  feelings,  I  do.  You 
have  done  nothing  for  me,  or  nothing  of  any  account,  and 
yet  my  very  heart  yearns  towards  you,  it  does;  and  there 
fore  it  seems  likely  that  these  feelings  come  from  some 
thing  besides  saving  scalps  and  guiding  through  woods." 


THE  PATHFINDER  459 

Mabel's  cheek  had  begun  to  glow  again;  and  though 
she  struggled  hard  to  smile,  her  voice  trembled  a  little 
as  she  answered. 

"Had  we  not  better  postpone  this  conversation,  Path 
finder?"  she  said;  "we  are  not  alone;  and  nothing  is  so 
unpleasant  to  a  listener,  they  say,  as  family  matters  in 
which  he  feels  no  interest." 

"It's  because  we  are  not  alone,  Mabel,  or  rather  because 
Jasper  is  with  us,  that  I  wish  to  talk  of  this  matter.  The 
sergeant  believed  I  might  make  a  suitable  companion  for 
you,  and,  though  I  had  misgivings  about  it — yes,  1  had 
many  misgivings — he  finally  persuaded  me  into  the  idee, 
and  things  came  round  atween  us,  as  you  know.  But, 
when  you  promised  your  father  to  marry  me,  Mabel,  and 
gave  me  your  hand  so  modestly,  but  so  prettily,  there 
was  one  circumstance,  as  your  uncle  called  it,  that  you 
didn't  know;  and  I've  thought  it  right  to  tell  you  what 
it  is,  before  matters  are  finally  settled.  I've  often  taken 
a  poor  deer  for  my  dinner  when  good  venison  was  not  to 
be  found;  but  it's  as  nat'ral  not  to  take  up  with  the  worst 
when  the  best  may  be  had." 

"You  speak  in  a  way,  Pathfinder,  that  is  difficult  to  be 
understood.  If  this  conversation  is  really  necessary,  I 
trust  you  will  be  more  plain." 

"Well  then,  Mabel,  I've  been  thinking  it  was  quite 
likely,  when  you  gave  in  to  the  sergeant's  wishes,  that 
you  did  not  know  the  natur'  of  Jasper  Western's  feelings 
towards  you?" 

"Pathfinder!"  and  Mabel'scheek  now  paled  to  the  livid 
hue  of  death;  then  it  flushed  to  the  tint  of  crimson;  and 
her  whole  frame  shuddered.  Pathfinder,  however,  was 
too  intent  on  his  own  object  to  notice  this  agitation;  and 
Eau-douce  had  hidden  his  face  in  his  hands  in  time  to 
shut  out  its  view. 

"I've  been  talking  with  the  lad;  and,  on  comparing  his 
dreams  with  my  dreams,  his  feelings  with  my  feelings, 
and  his  wishes  with  my  wishes,  I  fear  we  think  too  much 
alike  consarning  you  for  both  of  us  to  be  very  happy." 

"Pathfinder,  you  forget;  you  should  remember  that  we 
are  betrothed!"  said  Mabel  hastily,  and  in  a  voice  so  low 
that  it  required  a<*nte  attention  in  the  listeners  to  catch 


460  THE  PATHFINDER 

the  syllables.  Indeed  the  last  word  was  not  quite  intel 
ligible  to  the  guide,  and  he  confessed  his  ignorance  by 
the  usual— 

"Anan?" 

"You  forget  that  we  are  to  be  married;  and  such  allu 
sions  are  improper  as  well  as  painful." 

"Everything  is  proper  that  is  right,  Mabel;  and  every 
thing  is  right  that  leads  to  justice  and  fair  dealing; 
though  it  is  painful  enough,  as  you  say,  as  I  find  on  trial, 
I  do.  Now,  Mabel,  had  you  known  that  Eau-douce  thinks 
of  you  in  this  way,  maybe  you  never  would  have  consented 
to  be  married  to  one  as  old  and  as  uncomely  as  I  am." 

"Why  this  cruel  trial,  Pathfinder?  To  what  can  all  this 
lead?  Jasper  Western  thinks  no  such  thing;  he  says 
nothing,  he  feels  nothing. ' ' 

"Mabel!"  burst  from  out  of  the  young  man's  lips,  in  a 
way  to  betray  the  uncontrollable  nature  of  his  emotions, 
though  he  uttered  not  another  syllable. 

Mabel  buried  her  face  in  both  her  hands;  and  the  two 
sat  like  a  pair  of  guilty  beings,  suddenly  detected  in  the 
commission  of  some  crime  which  involved  the  happiness 
of  a  common  patron.  At  that  instant,  perhaps,  Jasper 
himself  was  inclined  to  deny  his  passion,  through  an  ex 
treme  unwillingness  to  grieve  his  friend;  while  Mabel, 
on  whom  this  positive  announcement  of  a  fact  that  she 
had  rather  unconsciously  hoped  than  believed,  came  so 
unexpectedly,  felt  her  mind  momentarily  bewildered;  and 
she  scarcely  knew  whether  to  weep  or  to  rejoice.  Still 
she  was  the  first  to  speak;  since  Eau-douce  could  utter 
naught  that  would  be  disingenuous,  or  that  would  pain 
his  friend. 

"Pathfinder, "  said  she,  "you  talk  wildly.  Why  men 
tion  this  at  all?" 

"Well,  Mabel,  if  I  talk  wildly,  I  am  half  wild,  you 
know,  by  natur',  I  fear,  as  well  as  by  habit."  As  he  said 
this,  he  endeavored  to  laugh  in  his  usual  noiseless  way, 
but  the  effect  produced  a  strange  and  discordant  sound ; 
and  it  appeared  nearly  to  choke  him.  "Yes,  I  must  be 
wild;  I'll  not  attempt  to  deny  it." 

"Dearest  Pathfinder!  my  best,  almost  my  only  friend! 
you  cannot,  do  not  think  I  intended  to  say  that!"  inter- 


THE  PATHFINDER  461 

rupted  Mabel,  almost  breathless  in  her  haste  to  relieve 
his  mortification.  "If  courage,  truth,  nobleness  of  soul 
and  conduct,  unyielding  principles,  and  a  hundred  other 
excellent  qualities  can  render  any  man  respectable,  es 
teemed,  or  beloved,  your  claims  are  inferior  to  those  of 
no  other  human  being." 

"What  tender  and  bewitching  voices  they  have,  Jas 
per!"  resumed  the  guide,  now  laughing  freely  and  nat 
urally.  "Yes,  natur'  seems  to  have  made  them  on  pur 
pose  to  sing  in  our  ears,  when  the  music  of  the  woods  is 
silent.  But  we  must  come  to  a  right  understanding,  we 
must.  I  ask  you  again,  Mabel,  if  you  had  known  that 
Jasper  Western  loves  you  as  well  as  I  do,  or  better  per 
haps,  though  that  is  scarcely  possible;  that  in  his  dreams 
he  sees  your  face  in  the  water  of  the  lake;  that  he  talks 
to  you,  and  of  you,  in  his  sleep;  fancies  all  that  is  beauti 
ful  like  Mabel  Dunham,  and  all  that  is  good  and  virtuous; 
believes  he  never  knowed  happiness  until  he  knowed  you; 
could  kiss  the  ground  on  which  you  have  trod,  and  forgets 
all  the  joys  of  his  calling  to  think  of  you  and  the  delight 
of  gazing  at  your  beauty  and  in  listening  to  your  voice, 
would  you  then  have  consented  to  marry  me?" 

Mabel  could  not  have  answered  this  question  if  she 
would ;  but,  though  her  face  was  buried  in  her  hands,  the 
tint  of  the  rushing  blood  was  visible  between  the  open 
ings,  and  the  suffusion  seemed  to  impart  itself  to  her 
very  fingers.  Still  nature  asserted  her  power,  for  there 
was  a  single  instant  when  the  astonished,  almost  terrified 
girl  stole  a  glance  at  Jasper,  as  if  distrusting  Pathfinder's 
history  of  his  feelings,  read  the  truth  of  all  he  said  in 
that  furtive  look,  and  instantly  concealed  her  face  again, 
as  if  she  would  hide  it  from  observation  forever. 

"Take  time  to  think,  Mabel,"  the  guide  continued, 
"for  it  is  a  solemn  thing  to  accept  one  man  for  a  husband 
while  the  thoughts  and  wishes  lead  to  another.  Jasper 
and  I  have  talked  this  matter  over,  freely  and  like  old 
friends,  and,  though  I  always  knowed  that  we  viewed 
most  things  pretty  much  alike,  I  couldn't  have  thought 
that  we  regarded  any  particular  object  with  the  very  same 
eyes,  as  it  might  be,  until  we  opened  our  minds  to  each 
other  about  you.  Now  Jasper  owns  that  the  very  first 


462  THE  PATHFINDER 

time  he  beheld  you,  he  thought  you  the  sweetest  and 
winningestest  creatur'  he  had  ever  met;  that  your  voice 
sounded  like  murmuring  water  in  his  ears;  that  he 
fancied  his  sails  were  your  garments  fluttering  in  the 
wind;  that  your  laugh  haunted  him  in  his  sleep;  and  that 
ag'in  and  ag'in  has  he  started  up  affrighted,  because  he 
has  fancied  some  one  wanted  to  force  you  out  of  the  Scud, 
where  he  imagined  you  had  taken  up  your  abode.  Nay, 
the  lad  has  even  acknowledged  that  he  often  weeps  at  the 
thought  that  you  are  likely  to  spend  your  days  with 
another,  and  not  with  him." 

"Jasper!" 

"It's  solemn  truth,  Mabel,  and  it's  right  you  should 
know  it.  Now  stand  up,  and  choose  'atween  us.  I  do 
believe  Eau-douce  loves  you  as  well  as  I  do  myself;  he 
has  tried  to  persuade  me  that  he  loves  you  better,  but 
that  I  will  not  allow,  for  I  do  not  think  it  possible;  but 
I  will  own  the  boy  loves  you,  heart  and  soul,  and  he  has  a 
good  right  to  be  heard.  The  sergeant  left  me  your  pro 
tector,  and  not  your  tyrant.  I  told  him  that  I  would  be 
a  father  to  you  as  well  as  a  husband,  and  it  seems  to  me 
no  feeling  father  would  deny  his  child  this  small  privi 
lege.  Stand  up,  Mabel,  therefore,  and  speak  your 
thoughts  as  frely  as  if  I  were  the  sergeant  himself,  seek 
ing  your  good,  and  nothing  else." 

Mabel  dropped  her  hands,  arose,  and  stood  face  to  face 
with  her  two  suitors,  though  the  flush  that  was  on  her 
cheeks  was  feverish,  the  evidence  of  excitement  rather 
than  of  shame. 

"What  would  you  have,  Pathfinder?"  she  asked;  "have 
I  not  already  promised  my  poor  father  to  do  all  you 
desire?" 

"Then  I  desire  this.  Here  I  stand,  a  man  of  the  forest 
and  of  little  laming,  though  I  fear  with  an  ambition  be 
yond  my  desarts,  and  I'll  do  my  endivors  to  do  justice  to 
both  sides.  In  the  first  place,  it  is  allowed  that,  so  far 
as  feelings  in  your  behalf  are  consarned,  we  love  you  just 
the  same;  Jasper  thinks  his  feelings  must  be  the  strong 
est,  but  this  I  cannot  say  in  honesty,  for  it  doesn't  seem 
to  me  that  it  can  be  true,  else  I  would  frankly  and  freely 
confess  it,  I  would.  So  in  this  particular,  Mabel,  we  are 


THE  PATHFINDER  463 

here  before  you  on  equal  tarms.  As  for  myself,  being 
the  oldest,  I'll  first  say  what  little  can  be  produced  in  my 
favor,  as  well  as  ag'in  it.  As  a  hunter,  I  do  think  there 
is  no  man  near  the  lines  that  can  outdo  me.  If  venison, 
or  bear's  meat,  or  even  birds  and  fish,  should  ever  be 
scarce  in  our  cabin,  it  would  be  more  likely  to  be  owing 
to  natur'  and  Providence  than  to  any  fault  of  mine.  In 
short,  it  does  seem  to  me  that  the  woman  who  depended 
on  me  would  never  be  likely  to  want  for  food.  But  I'm 
fearful  ignorant!  It's  true  I  speak  several  tongues,  such 
as  they  be,  while  I'm  very  far  from  being  expart  at  my 
own.  Then,  my  years  are  greater  than  your  own,  Mabel ; 
and  the  circumstance  that  I  was  so  long  the  sergeant's 
comrade  can  be  no  great  merit  in  your  eyes.  I  wish,  too, 
I  was  more  comely,  I  do;  but  we  are  all  as  natur'  made 
us,  and  the  last  thing  that  a  man  ought  to  lament,  except 
on  very  special  occasions,  is  his  looks.  When  all  is  re 
membered,  age,  looks,  learning,  and  habits,  Mabel,  con 
science  tells  me  I  ought  to  confess  that  I'm  altogether 
unfit  for  you,  if  not  downright  unworthy;  and  I  would 
give  up  the  hope  this  minute,  I  would,  if  I  didn't  feel 
something  pulling  at  my  heart-strings  which  seems  hard 
to  undo. ' ' 

"Pathfinder!  noble,  generous  Pathfinder!"  cried  our 
heroine,  seizing  his  hand  and  kissing  it  with  a  species  of 
holy  reverence;  "you  do  yourself  injustice — you  forget 
my  poor  father  and  your  promise — you  do  not  know  me!" 

"Now,  here's  Jasper,"  continued  the  guide,  without 
allowing  the  girl's  caresses  to  win  him  from  his  purpose, 
*  'with  him  the  case  is  different.  In  the  way  of  providing, 
as  in  that  of  loving,  there's  not  much  to  choose  'atween 
us;  for  the  lad  is  frugal,  industrious,  and  careful.  Then 
he  is  quite  a  scholar,  knows  the  tongue  of  the  Frenchers, 
reads  many  books,  and  some,  I  know,  that  you  like  to 
read  yourself,  can  understand  you  at  all  times,  which, 
perhaps,  is  more  than  I  can  say  for  myself." 

"What  of  all  this?"  interrupted  Mabel  impatiently; 
"why  speak  of  it  now — why  speak  of  it  at  all?" 

"Then  the  lad  has  a  manner  of  letting  his  thoughts  be 
known,  that  I  fear  I  can  never  equal.  If  there's  anything 
on'arth  that  would  make  my  tongue  bold  and  persuading, 


464  THE  PATHFINDER 

Mabel,  I  do  think  it's  yourself;  and  yet  in  our  late  con 
versations  Jasper  has  outdone  me,  even  on  this  point,  in 
a  way  to  make  me  ashamed  of  myself.  He  has  told  me 
how  simple  you  were,  and  how  true-hearted,  and  kind- 
hearted;  and  how  you  looked  down  upon  vanities,  for 
though  you  might  be  the  wife  of  more  than  one  officer,  as 
he  thinks,  that  you  cling  to  feeling,  and  would  rather  be 
true  to  yourself  and  natur'  than  a  colonel's  lady.  He 
fairly  made  my  blood  warm,  he  did,  when  he  spoke  of 
your  having  beauty  without  seeming  ever  to  have  looked 
upon  it,  and  the  manner  in  which  you  moved  about  like  a 
young fa'n,  so  nat'ral  and  graceful  like,  without  knowing 
it;  and  the  truth  and  justice  of  your  idees,  and  the 
warmth  and  generosity  of  your  heart — 

"Jasper!"  interrupted  Mabel,  giving  way  to  feelings 
that  had  gathered  an  ungovernable  force  by  being  so  long 
pent,  and  falling  into  the  young  man's  willing  arms, 
weeping  like  a  child,  and  almost  as  helpless.  "Jasper! 
Jasper!  why  have  you  kept  this  from  me?" 

The  answer  of  Eau-douce  was  not  very  intelligible,  nor 
was  the  murmured  dialogue  that  followed  remarkable  for 
coherency.  But  the  language  of  affection  is  easily  under 
stood.  The  hour  that  succeeded  passed  like  a  very  few 
minutes  of  ordinary  life,  so  far  as  a  computation  of  time 
was  concerned;  and  when  Mabel  recollected  herself,  and 
bethought  her  of  the  existence  of  others,  her  wncle  was 
pacing  the  cutter's  deck  in  great  impatience,  and  won 
dering  why  Jasper  should  be  losing  so  much  of  a  favor 
able  wind.  Her  first  thought  was  of  him,  who  was  so 
likely  to  feel  the  recent  betrayal  of  her  real  emotions. 

"Oh  Jasper,"  she  exclaimed,  like  one  suddenly  self- 
convicted,  "the  Pathfinder!" 

Eau-douce  fairly  trembled,  not  with  unmanly  apprehen 
sion,  but  with  the  painful  conviction  of  the  pang  he  had 
given  his  friend;  and  he  looked  in  all  directions  in  the 
expectation  of  seeing  his  person.  But  Pathfinder  had 
withdrawn,  with  a  tact  and  a  delicacy  that  might  have 
done  credit  to  the  sensibility  and  breeding  of  a  courtier. 
For  several  minutes  the  two  lovers  sat,  silently  waiting 
his  return,  uncertain  what  propriety  required  of  them 
under  circumstances  so  marked  and  so  peculiar.  At 


THE  PATHFINDER  465 

length  they  beheld  their  friend  advancing  slowly  towards 
them,  with  a  thoughtful  and  even  pensive  air. 

"I  now  understand  what  you  meant,  Jasper,  by  speak 
ing  without  a  tongue  and  hearing  without  an  ear,"  he 
said  when  close  enough  to  the  tree  to  be  heard.  "Yes,  I 
understand  it  now,  I  do;  and  a  very  pleasant  sort  of  dis 
course  it  is,  when  one  can  hold  it  with  Mabel  Dunham. 
Ah's  me!  I  told  the  sergeant  I  wasn't  fit  for  her;  that  I 
was  too  old,  too  ignorant,  and  too  wild  like;  but  he  would 
have  it  otherwise. ' ' 

Jasper  and  Mabel  sat,  resembling  Milton's  picture  of 
our  first  parents,  when  the  consciousness  of  sin  first  laid 
its  leaden  weight  on  their  souls.  Neither  spoke,  neither 
even  moved;  though  both  at  that  moment  fancied  they 
could  part  with  their  new-found  happiness  in  order  to 
restore  their  friend  to  his  peace  of  mind.  Jasper  was 
pale  as  death,  but,  in  Mabel,  maiden  modesty  had  caused 
the  blood  to  mantle  on  her  cheeks,  until  their  bloom  was 
heightened  to  a  richness  that  was  scarcely  equalled  in  her 
hours  of  light-hearted  buoyancy  and  joy.  As  the  feeling 
which,  in  her  sex,  always  accompanies  the  security  of  love 
returned,  threw  its  softness  and  tenderness  over  her  coun 
tenance,  she  was  singularly  beautiful.  Pathfinder  gazed 
at  her  with  an  intentness  he  did  not  endeavor  to  conceal, 
and  then  he  fairly  laughed  in  his  own  way,  and  with  a 
sort  of  wild  exultation,  as  men  that  are  untutored  are 
wont  to  express  their  delight.  This  momentary  indul 
gence,  however,  was  expiated  by  the  pang  which  fol 
lowed  the  sudden  consciousness  that  this  glorious  young 
creature  was  lost  to  him  forever.  It  required  a  full 
minute  for  this  simple-minded  being  to  recover  from  the 
shock  of  this  conviction;  and  then  he  recovered  his  dig 
nity  of  manner,  speaking  with  gravity,  almost  with 
solemnity. 

"I  have  always  known,  Mabel  Dunham,  that  men  have 
their  gifts,"  said  he;  "but  I'd  forgotten  that  it  did  not 
belong  to  mine  to  please  the  young,  the  beautiful,  and 
1'arned.  I  hope  the  mistake  has  been  no  very  heavy  sin; 
and  if  it  was,  I've  been  heavily  punished  for  it,  I  have. 
Nay,  Mabel,  I  know  what  you'd  say,  but  it's  unnecessary; 
I  feel  it  all,  and  that  is  as  good  as  if  I  heard  it  all.  I've 
30 


466  THE  PATHFINDER 

had  a  bitter  hour,  Mabel.     I've  had  a  very  bitter  hour, 
lad." 

"Hour!"  echoed  Mabel,  as  the  other  first  used  the 
word;  the  tell-tale  blood,  which  had  begun  to  ebb  towards 
her  heart,  rushing  again  tumultuously  to  her  very  tem 
ples;  "surely  not  an  hour,  Pathfinder?" 

"Hour!"  exclaimed  Jasper  at  the  same  instant;  "no, 
no,  my  worthy  friend,  it  is  not  ten  minutes  since  you  left 
us!" 

"Well,  it  may  be  so;  though  to  me  it  has  seemed  to  be 
a  day.  I  begin  to  think,  however,  that  the  happy  count 
time  by  minutes,  and  the  miserable  count  it  by  months. 
But  we  will  talk  no  more  of  this;  it  is  all  over  now,  and 
many  words  about  it  will  make  you  no  happier,  while 
they  will  only  tell  me  what  I've  lost;  and  quite  likely 
how  much  I  desarved  to  lose  her.  No,  no,  Mabel,  'tis 
useless  to  interrupt  me;  I  admit  it  all,  and  your  gainsay 
ing  it,  though  it  be  so  well  meant,  cannot  change  my 
mind.  Well,  Jasper,  she  is  yours;  and,  though  it's  hard 
to  think  it,  I  do  believe  you'll  make  her  happier  than  I 
could,  for  your  gifts  are  better  suited  to  do  so,  though  I 
would  have  strived  hard  to  do  as  much,  if  I  know  myself, 
I  would.  I  ought  to  have  known  better  than  to  believe 
the  sergeant;  and  I  ought  to  have  put  faith  in  what  Mabel 
told  me  at  the  head  of  the  lake,  for  reason  and  judgment 
might  have  shown  me  its  truth;  but  it  is  so  pleasant  to 
think  what  we  wish,  and  mankind  so  easily  over-persuade 
us,  when  we  over-persuade  ourselves.  But  what's  the 
use  in  talking  of  it,  as  I  said  'afore?  It's  true,  Mabel 
seemed  to  be  consenting,  though  it  all  came  from  a  wish 
to  please  her  father,  and  from  being  skeary  about  the 
savages — 

"Pathfinder!" 

"I  understand  you,  Mabel,  and  have  no  hard  feelings,  I 
haven't.  I  sometimes  think  I  should  like  to  live  in  your 
neighborhood,  that  I  might  look  at  your  happiness;  but, 
on  the  whole,  it's  better  I  should  quit  the  55th  altogether, 
and  go  back  to  the  60th,  which  is  my  natyve  rigiment,  as 
it  might  be.  It  would  have  been  better,  perhaps,  had  I 
never  left  it,  though  my  sarvices  were  much  wanted  in 
this  quarter,  and  I'd  been  with  some  of  the  55th  years 


THE  PATHFINDER  467 

agone;  Sergeant  Dunham,  for  instance,  when  he  was  in 
another  corps.  Still,  Jasper,  I  do  not  regret  that  I've 
known  you — 

"And  me,  Pathfinder!"  impetuously  interrupted  Mabel; 
"do  you  regret  having  known  me?  Could  I  think  so,  I 
should  never  be  at  peace  with  myself." 

"You,  Mabel!"  returned  the  guide,  taking  the  hand  of 
our  heroine,  and  looking  up  into  her  countenance  with 
guileless  simplicity,  but  earnest  affection;  "how  could  I 
be  sorry  that  a  ray  of  the  sun  came  across  the  gloom  of  a 
cheerless  day — that  light  has  broken  in  upon  darkness, 
though  it  remained  so  short  a  time?  I  do  not  flatter  my 
self  with  being  able  to  march  quite  so  light-hearted  as  I 
once  used  to  could,  or  to  sleep  as  sound,  for  some  time 
to  come;  but  I  shall  always  remember  how  near  I  was  to 
being  undeservedly  happy,  I  shall.  So  far  from  blaming 
you,  Mabel,  I  only  blame  myself  for  being  so  vain  as  to 
think  it  possible  I  could  please  such  a  cretur' ;  for  sar- 
tainly  you  told  me  how  it  was,  when  we  talked  it  over  on 
uie  mountain,  and  I  ought  to  have  believed  you  then;  for 
I  do  suppose  it's  nat'ral  that  young  women  should  know 
their  own  minds  better  than  their  fathers.  Ah's  me! 
It's  settled  now,  and  nothing  remains  but  for  me  to  take 
leave  of  you,  that  you  may  depart;  I  feel  that  Master  Cap 
must  be  impatient,  and  there  is  danger  of  his  coming  on 
shore  to  look  for  us  all." 

"To  take  leave!"  exclaimed  Mabel. 

"Leave!"  echoed  Jasper;  "you  do  not  mean  to  quit  us, 
my  friend?" 

"  'Tis  best,  Mabel,  'tis  altogether  best,  Eau-douce; 
and  it's  wisest.  I  could  live  and  die  in  your  company,  if 
I  only  followed  feeling;  but,  if  I  follow  reason,  I  shall 
quit  you  here.  You  will  go  back  to  Oswego,  and  become 
man  and  wife  as  soon  as  you  arrive — for  all  that  is  deter 
mined  with  Master  Cap,  who  hankers  after  the  sea  again, 
and  who  knows  what  is  to  happen — while  I  shall  return 
to  the  wilderness  and  my  Maker.  Come,  Mabel,"  con 
tinued  Pathfinder,  rising  and  drawing  nearer  to  our 
heroine,  with  grave  decorum,  ''kiss  me;  Jasper  will  not 
grudge  me  one  kiss;  then  we'll  part." 

"Oh  Pathfinder!"  exclaimed    Ma^ol    falling  into  the 


468  THE  PATHFINDER 

arms  of  the  guide,  and  kissing  his  cheeks  again  and 
again,  with  a  freedom  and  warmth  she  had  been  far  from 
manifesting  while  held  to  the  bosom  of  Jasper;  "God 
bless  you,  dearest  Pathfinder!  You'll  come  to  us  here 
after.  We  shall  see  you  again.  When  old,  you  will  come 
to  our  dwelling,  and  let  me  be  a  daughter  to  you?" 

"Yes,  that's  it,"  returned  the  guide,  almost  gasping 
for  breath;  "I'll  try  to  think  of  it  in  that  way.  You're 
more  befitting  to  be  my  daughter  than  to  be  my  wife, 
you  are.  Farewell,  Jasper.  Now  we'll  go  to  the  canoe; 
it's  time  you  were  on  board." 

The  manner  in  which  Pathfinder  led  the  way  to  the  shore 
was  solemn  and  calm.  As  soon  as  he  reached  the  canoe, 
he  again  took  Mabel  by  the  hands,  held  her  at  the  length 
of  his  own  arms,  and  gazed  wistfully  into  her  face,  until 
the  unbidden  tears  rolled  out  of  the  fountains  of  feeling 
and  trickled  down  his  rugged  cheeks  in  streams. 

"Bless  me,  Pathfinder, ' '  said  Mabel,  kneeling  reverently 
at  his  feet.  "Oh,  at  least  bless  me  before  we  part!" 

That  untutored  but  noble-minded  being  did  as  she  de 
sired;  and,  aiding  her  to  enter  the  canoe,  seemed  to  tear 
himself  away  as  one  snaps  a  strong  and  obstinate  cord. 
Before  he  retired,  however,  he  took  Jasper  by  the  arm 
and  led  him  a  little  aside,  when  he  spoke  as  follows: 

"You're  kind  of  heart  and  gentle  by  natur',  Jasper; 
but  we  are  both  rough  and  wild  in  comparison  with  that 
dear  creatur'.  Be  careful  of  her,  and  never  show  the 
roughness  of  man's  natur'  to  her  soft  disposition.  You'll 
get  to  understand  her  in  time;  and  the  Lord,  who  governs 
the  lake  and  the  forest  alike,  who  looks  upon  virtue  with 
a  smile  and  upon  vice  with  a  frown,  keep  you  happy  and 
worthy  to  be  so !" 

Pathfinder  made  a  sign  for  his  friend  to  depart,  and  he 
stood  leaning  on  his  rifle  until  the  canoe  had  reached  the 
side  of  the  Scud.  Mabel  wept  as  if  her  heart  would  break; 
nor  did  her  eyes  once  turn  from  the  open  spot  in  the 
glade,  where  the  form  of  the  Pathfinder  was  to  be  seen, 
until  the  cutter  had  passed  a  point  that  completely  shut 
out  the  island.  When  last  in  view,  the  sinewy  frame  of 
this  extraordinary  man  was  as  motionless  as  if  it  were  a 
statue  set  up  in  that  solitary  place  to  commemorate  the 
scenes  of  which  it  had  so  lately  been  the  witness. 


CHAPTER  XXX 

"  Oh !  let  me  only  breathe  the  air, 

The  blessed  air  that's  breath'd  by  thee ; 
And,  whether  on  its  wings  it  bear 
Healing  or  death,  'tis  sweet  to  me  ! " 

—MOORE. 

PATHFINDER  was  accustomed  to  solitude;  but,  when  the 
Scud  had  actually  disappeared,  he  was  almost  overcome 
with  a  sense  of  his  loneliness.  Never  before  had  he  been 
conscious  of  his  isolated  condition  in  the  world;  for  his 
feelings  had  gradually  been  accustoming  themselves  to 
the  blandishments  and  wants  of  social  life;  particularly 
as  the  last  were  connected  with  the  domestic  affections. 
Now,  all  had  vanished,  as  it  might  be,  in  one  moment; 
and  he  was  left  equally  without  companions  and  without 
hope.  Even  Chingachgook  had  left  him,  though  it  was 
but  temporarily;  still  his  presence  was  missed  at  the 
precise  instant  which  might  be  termed  the  most  critical 
in  our  hero's  life. 

Pathfinder  stood  leaning  on  his  rifle,  in  the  attitude 
described  m  the  last  chapter,  a  long  time  after  the  Scud 
had  disappeared.  The  rigidity  of  his  limbs  seemed  per 
manent;  and  none  but  a  man  accustomed  to  put  his 
muscles  to  the  severest  proof  could  have  maintained  that 
posture,  with  its  marble-like  inflexibility,  for  so  great  a 
length  of  time.  At  length  he  moved  away  from  the  spot; 
the  motion  of  the  body  being  preceded  by  a  sigh  that 
seemed  to  heave  up  from  the  very  depths  of  his  bosom. 

It  was  a  peculiarity  of  this  extraordinary  being  that  his 
senses  and  his  limbs,  for  all  practical  purposes,  were 
never  at  fault,  let  the  mind  be  preoccupied  with  other 
interests  as  much  as  it  might.  On  the  present  occasion 
neither  of  these  great  auxiliaries  failed  him;  but,  though 
his  thoughts  were  exclusively  occupied  with  Mabel,  her 
beauty,  her  preference  of  Jasper,  her  tears,  and  her  de 
parture,  he  moved  in  a  direct  line  to  the  spot  where  June 

469 


470  THE  PATHFINDER 

still  remained,  which  was  the  grave  of  her  husband.  The 
conversation  that  followed  passed  in  the  language  of  the 
Tuscaroras,  which  Pathfinder  spoke  fluently;  but,  as  that 
tongue  is  understood  only  by  the  extremely  learned,  we 
shall  translate  it  freely  into  the  English;  preserving,  as 
far  as  possible,  the  tone  of  thought  of  each  interlocutor, 
as  well  as  the  peculiarities  of  manner.  June  had  suffered 
her  hair  to  fall  about  her  face,  had  taken  a  seat  on  a 
stone  which  had  been  dug  from  the  excavation  made  by 
the  grave,  and  was  hanging  over  the  spot  which  contained 
the  body  of  Arrowhead,  unconscious  of  the  presence  of 
any  other.  She  believed,  indeed,  that  all  had  left  the 
island  but  herself,  and  the  tread  of  the  guide's  moccasined 
foot  was  too  noiseless  rudely  to  undeceive  her. 

Pathfinder  stood  gazing  at  the  woman  for  several 
minutes  in  mute  attention.  The  contemplation  of  her 
grief,  the  recollection  of  her  irreparable  loss,  and  the 
view  of  her  desolation  produced  a  healthful  influence 
on  his  own  feelings;  his  reason  telling  him  how  much 
deeper  lay  the  sources  of  grief  in  a  young  wife,  who  was 
suddenly  and  violently  deprived  of  her  husband,  than  in 
himself. 

"Dew-of-June, "  he  said  solemnly,  but  with  an  earnest 
ness  which  denoted  the  strength  of  his  sympathy,  "you 
are  not  alone  in  your  sorrow.  Turn,  and  let  your  eyes 
look  upon  a  friend." 

"June  has  no  longer  any  friend!"  the  woman  answered. 
"Arrowhead  has  gone  to  the  happy  hunting-grounds,  and 
there  is  no  one  left  to  care  for  June.  The  Tuscaroras 
would  chase  her  from  their  wigwams;  the  Iroquois  are 
hateful  in  her  eyes,  and  she  could  not  look  at  them.  No! 
leave  June  to  starve  over  the  grave  of  her  husband." 

"This  will  never  do — this  will  never  do.  'Tis  ag'in 
reason  and  right.  You  believe  in  the  Manitou,  June?" 

"He  has  hid  his  face  from  June  because  he  is  angry. 
He  has  left  her  alone  to  die." 

"Listen  to  one  who  has  had  a  long  acquaintance  with 
red  natur',  though  he  has  a  white  birth  and  white  gifts. 
When  the  Manitou  of  a  pale  face  wishes  to  produce  good 
in  a  pale-face  heart  He  strikes  it  with  grief;  for  it  is  in 
our  sorrows,  June,  that  we  look  with  the  truest  eyes  into 


THE  PATHFINDER  471 

ourselves,  and  with  the  farthest-sighted  eyes,  too,  as  re 
spects  right.  The  Great  Spirit  wishes  you  well,  and  He 
has  taken  away  the  chief,  lest  you  should  be  led  astray 
by  his  wily  tongue,  and  get  to  be  a  Mingo  in  your  dispo 
sition,  as  you  were  already  in  your  company." 

"Arrowhead  was  a  great  chief,"  returned  the  woman 
proudly. 

"He  had  his  merits,  he  had;  and  he  had  his  demerits, 
too.  But,  June,  you  are  not  desarted,  nor  will  you  be 
soon.  Let  your  grief  out — let  it  out,  according  tonatur', 
and  when  the  proper  time  comes  I  shall  have  more  to  say 
to  you." 

Pathfinder  now  went  to  his  own  canoe,  and  he  left  the 
island.  In  the  course  of  the  day  June  heard  the  crack  of 
his  rifle  once  or  twice;  and  as  the  sun  was  setting  he 
appeared,  bringing  her  birds  ready  cooked,  and  of  a  deli 
cacy  and  flavor  that  might  have  tempted  the  appetite  of 
an  epicure.  This  species  of  intercourse  lasted  a  month, 
June  obstinately  refusing  to  abandon  the  grave  of  her 
husband  all  that  time,  though  she  still  accepted  the 
friendly  offerings  of  her  protector.  Occasionally  they 
met  and  conversed,  Pathfinder  sounding  the  state  of  the 
woman's  feelings;  but  the  interviews  were  short,  and  far 
from  frequent.  June  slept  in  one  of  the  huts,  and  she 
laid  down  her  head  in  security,  for  she  was  conscious  of 
the  protection  of  a  friend,  though  Pathfinder  invariably 
retired  at  night  to  an  adjacent  island,  where  he  had  built 
himself  a  hut. 

At  the  end  of  the  month,  however,  the  season  was  get 
ting  to  be  too  far  advanced  to  render  her  situation  pleas 
ant  to  June.  The  trees  had  lost  their  leaves,  and  the 
nights  were  becoming  cold  and  wintry.  It  was  time  to 
depart. 

At  this  moment  Chingachgook  reappeared.  He  had  a 
long  and  confidential  interview  on  the  island  with  his 
friend.  June  witnessed  their  movements,  and  she  saw 
that  her  guardian  was  distressed.  Stealing  to  his  side, 
she  endeavored  to  smooth  his  sorrow  with  a  woman's 
gentleness  and  with  a  woman's  instinct. 

"Thank  you,  June,  thank  you!"  he  said;  "  'tis  well 
meant,  though  it's  useless.  But  it  is  time  to  quit  this 


472  THE  PATHFINDER 

place.     To-morrow  we  shall  depart.     You  will  go  with 
us,  for  now  you've  got  to  feel  reason." 

June  assented  in  the  meek  manner  of  an  Indian  woman, 
and  she  withdrew  to  pass  the  remainder  of  her  time  near 
the  grave  of  Arrowhead.  Regardless  of  the  hour  and  the 
season,  the  young  widow  did  not  pillow  her  head  during 
the  whole  of  that  autumnal  night.  She  sat  near  the  spot 
that  held  the  remains  of  her  husband,  and  prayed,  in  the 
manner  of  her  people,  for  his  success  on  the  endless  path 
on  which  he  had  so  lately  gone,  and  for  their  reunion  in 
the  land  of  the  just.  Humble  and  degraded  as  she  would 
have  seemed  in  the  eyes  of  the  sophisticated  and  unre 
flecting,  the  image  of  God  was  on  her  soul,  and  it  vindi 
cated  its  divine  origin  by  aspirations  and  feelings  that 
would  have  surprised  those  who,  feigning  more,  feel  less. 

In  the  morning  the  three  departed,  Pathfinder  earnest 
and  intelligent  in  all  he  did,  the  Great  Serpent  silent  and 
imitative,  and  June  meek,  resigned,  but  sorrowful.  They 
went  in  two  canoes,  that  of  the  woman  being  abandoned; 
Chingachgook  led  the  way,  and  Pathfinder  followed,  the 
course  being  up  stream.  Two  days  they  paddled  west 
ward,  and  as  many  nights  they  encamped  on  islands. 
Fortunately  the  weather  became  mild,  and  when  they 
reached  the  lake  it  was  found  smooth  and  glassy  as  a  pond. 
It  was  the  Indian  summer,  and  the  calms,  and  almost  the 
blandness  of  June,  slept  in  the  hazy  atmosphere. 

On  the  morning  of  the  third  day  they  passed  the  mouth 
of  the  Oswego,  where  the  fort  and  the  sleeping  ensign  in 
vited  them  in  vain  to  enter.  Without  casting  a  look  aside, 
Chingachgook  paddled  past  the  dark  waters  of  the  river, 
and  Pathfinder  still  followed  in  silent  industry.  The  ram 
parts  were  crowded  with  spectators;  but  Lundie,  who 
knsw  the  persons  of  his  old  friends,  refused  to  allow  them 
to  be  even  hailed. 

It  was  noon  when  Chingachgook  entered  a  little  bay 
where  the  Scud  lay  at  anchor,  in  a  sort  of  roadstead.  A 
small  ancient  clearing  was  on  the  shore;  and  near  the 
margin  of  the  lake  was  a  log  dwelling,  recently  and  com 
pletely,  though  rudely  fitted  up.  There  was  an  air  of 
frontier  comfort  and  of  frontier  abundance  around  the 
place,  though  it  was  necessarily  wild  and  solitary.  Jasper 


THE  PATHFINDER  473 

stood  on  the  shore;  and  when  Pathfinder  landed,  he  was 
the  first  to  take  him  by  the  hand.  The  meeting  was 
simple,  but  very  cordial.  No  questions  were  asked,  it 
being  apparent  that  Chi ngachgook  had  made  the  necessary 
explanations.  Pathfinder  never  squeezed  his  friend's 
hand  more  cordially  than  in  this  interview;  and  he  even 
laughed  cordially  in  his  face  as  he  told  him  how  happy 
and  well  he  appeared. 

''Where  is  she,  Jasper?  where  is  she?"  the  guide  at 
length  whispered,  for  at  first  he  had  seemed  to  be  afraid 
to  trust  himself  with  the  question. 

"She  is  waiting  for  us  in  the  house,  my  dear  friend, 
where  you  see  that  June  has  already  hastened  before  us." 

"June  may  use  a  lighter  step  to  meet  Mabel,  but  she 
cannot  carry  a  lighter  heart.  And  so,  lad,  you  found  the 
chaplain  at  the  garrison,  and  all  was  soon  settled?" 

"We  were  married  within  a  week  after  we  left  you,  and 
Master  Cap  departed  next  day.  You  have  forgotten  to 
inquire  about  your  friend  Saltwater." 

"Not  I,  not  I;  the  Sar pent  has  told  me  all  that;  and 
then  I  love  to  hear  so  much  of  Mabel  and  her  happiness, 
I  do.  Did  the  child  smile  or  did  she  weep  when  the  cere 
mony  was  over?" 

"She  did  both,  my  friend;  but — 

"Yes,  that's  their  natur',  tearful  and  cheerful.  Ah's 
me !  they  are  very  pleasant  to  us  of  the  woods ;  and  I  do 
believe  I  should  think  all  right,  whatever  Mabel  might  do. 
And  do  you  think,  Jasper,  that  she  thought  of  me  at  all 
on  that  joyful  occasion?" 

"I  know  she  did,  Pathfinder;  and  she  thinks  of  you  and 
talks  of  you  daily,  almost  hourly.  None  love  you  as  we 
do." 

"I  know  few  love  me  better  than  yourself,  Jasper; 
Chingachgook  is  perhaps,  now,  the  only  creatur'  of  whom 
I  can  say  that.  Well,  there's  no  use  in  putting  it  off  any 
longer;  it  must  be  done,  and  may  as  well  be  done  at  once; 
so,  Jasper,  lead  the  way,  and  I'll  endivor  to  look  upon 
her  sweet  countenance  once  more. ' ' 

Jasper  did  lead  the  way,  and  they  were  soon  in  the 
presence  of  Mabel.  The  latter  met  her  late  suitor  with 
a  bright  blush,  and  her  limbs  trembled  so,  she  could 


474  THE  PATHFINDER 

hardly  stand;  still  her  manner  was  affectionate  and  frank. 
During  the  hour  of  Pathfinder's  visit  (for  it  lasted  no 
longer,  though  he  ate  in  the  dwelling  of  his  friends),  one 
who  was  expert  in  tracing  the  working  of  the  human  mind 
might  have  seen  a  faithful  index  to  the  feelings  of  Mabel 
in  her  manner  to  Pathfinder  and  her  husband.  With  the 
latter  she  still  had  a  little  of  the  reserve  that  usually  ac 
companies  young  wedlock;  but  the  tones  of  her  voice 
were  kinder  even  than  common;  the  glance  of  her  eye 
was  tender,  and  she  seldom  looked  at  him  without  the 
glow  that  tinged  her  cheeks  betraying  the  existence  of 
feelings  that  habit  and  time  had  not  yet  smoothed  into 
absolute  tranquillity.  With  Pathfinder,  all  was  earnest, 
sincere,  even  anxious;  but  the  tones  never  trembled,  the 
eye  never  fell;  and  if  the  cheek  flushed,  it  was  with  the 
emotions  that  are  connected  with  concern. 

At  length  the  moment  came  when  Pathfinder  must  go 
his  way.  Chingachgook  had  already  abandoned  the  canoes, 
and  was  posted  on  the  margin  of  the  woods,  where  a  path 
led  into  the  forest.  Here  he  calmly  waited  to  be  joined 
by  his  friend.  As  soon  as  the  latter  was  aware  of  this 
fact,  he  rose  in  a  solemn  manner  and  took  his  leave. 

"I've  sometimes  thought  that  my  own  fate  has  been  a 
little  hard,"  he  said;  "but  that  of  this  woman,  Mabel, 
has  shamed  me  into  reason." 

"June  remains,  and  lives  with  me,"  eagerly  interrupted 
our  heroine. 

"So  I  comprehend  it.  If  anybody  can  bring  her  back 
from  her  grief,  and  make  her  wish  to  live,  you  can  do  it, 
Mabel;  though  I've  misgivings  about  even  your  success. 
The  poor  creatur'  is  without  a  tribe,  as  well  as  without  a 
husband,  and  it's  not  easy  to  reconcile  the  feelings  to 
both  losses.  Ah's  me! — what  have  I  to  do  with  other 
people's  miseries  and  marriages,  as  if  I  hadn't  affliction 
enough  of  my  own?  Don't  speak  to  me,  Mabel— don't 
speak  to  me,  Jasper— let  me  go  my  way  in  peace,  and  like 
a  man.  I've  seen  your  happiness,  and  that  is  a  great 
deal,  and  I  shall  be  able  to  bear  my  own  sorrow  all  the 
better  for  it.  No— I'll  never  kiss  you  ag'in,  Mabel,  I'll 
never  kiss  you  ag'in.  Here's  my  hand,  Jasper— squeeze 
it,  boy,  squeeze  it;  no  fear  of  its  giving  way,  for  it's  the 


THE  PATHFINDER  475 

hand  of  a  man;  and  now,  Mabel,  do  you  take  it— nay, 
you  must  not  do  this" — preventing  Mabel  from  kissing 
it  and  bathing  it  in  her  tears — '  'y°u  must  not  do  this — 

"Pathfinder,"  asked  Mabel,  "when  shall  we  see  you 
again?" 

"I've  thought  of  that,  too;  yes,  I've  thought  of  that,  I 
have.  If  the  time  should  ever  come  when  I  can  look  upon 
you  altogether  as  a  sister,  Mabel,  or  a  child — it  might  be 
better  to  say  a  child,  since  you're  young  enough  to  be  my 
daughter — depend  on  it  I'll  come  back;  for  it  would 
lighten  my  very  heart  to  witness  your  gladness.  But  if  I 
cannot — farewell— farewell — the  sergeant  was  wrong — 
yes,  the  sergeant  was  wrong ! ' ' 

This  was  the  last  the  Pathfinder  ever  uttered  to  the  ears 
of  Jasper  Western  and  Mabel  Dunham.  He  turned  away, 
as  if  the  words  choked  him,  and  was  quickly  at  the  side 
of  his  friend.  As  soon  as  the  latter  saw  him  approach, 
he  shouldered  his  own  burthen,  and  glided  in  among  the 
trees,  without  waiting  to  be  spoken  to.  Mabel,  her  hus 
band,  and  June  all  watched  the  form  of  the  Pathfinder, 
in  the  hope  of  receiving  a  parting  gesture,  or  a  stolen 
glance  of  the  eye;  but  he  did  not  look  back.  Once  or 
twice  they  thought  they  saw  his  head  shake,  as  one 
trembles  in  bitterness  of  spirit;  and  a  toss  of  the  hand 
was  given,  as  if  he  knew  that  he  was  watched;  but  a 
tread,  whose  vigor  no  sorrow  could  enfeeble,  soon  bore 
him  out  of  view,  and  he  was  lost  in  the  depths  of  the  forest. 

Neither  Jasper  nor  his  wife  ever  beheld  the  Pathfinder 
again.  They  remained  for  another  year  on  the  banks  of 
Ontario;  and  then  the  pressing  solicitations  of  Cap  in 
duced  them  to  join  him  in  New  York,  where  Jasper  eventu 
ally  became  a  successful  and  respected  merchant.  Thrice 
Mabel  received  valuable  presents  of  furs  at  intervals  of 
years;  and  her  feelings  told  her  whence  they  came,  though 
no  name  accompanied  the  gift.  Later  in  life  still,  when 
the  mother  of  several  youths,  she  had  occasion  to  visit  the 
interior;  and  found  herself  on  the  banks  of  the  Mohawk, 
accompanied  by  her  sons,  the  eldest  of  whom  was  capable 
of  being  her  protector.  On  that  occasion  she  observed  a 
man  in  a  singular  guise,  watching  her  in  the  distance, 
with  an  intentness  that  induced  her  to  inquire  into  his 


476  THE  PATHFINDER 

pursuits  and  character.  She  was  told  he  was  the  most 
renowned  hunter  of  that  portion  of  the  State — it  was 
after  the  Revolution — a  being  of  great  purity  of  char 
acter  and  of  as  marked  peculiarities;  and  that  he  was 
known  in  that  region  of  country  by  the  name  of  the 
Leather-stocking.  Further  than  this  Mrs.  Western  could 
not  ascertain;  though  the  distant  glimpse  and  singular 
deportment  of  this  unknown  hunter  gave  her  a  sleepless 
night,  and  cast  a  shade  of  melancholy  over  her  still  lovely 
face,  that  lasted  many  a  day. 

As  for  June,  the  double  loss  of  husband  and  tribe  pro 
duced  the  effect  that  Pathfinder  had  foreseen.  She  died 
in  the  cottage  of  Mabel,  on  the  shores  of  the  lake;  and 
Jasper  conveyed  her  body  to  the  island,  where  he  interred 
it  by  the  side  of  that  of  Arrowhead. 

Lundie  lived  to  marry  his  ancient  love,  and  retired  a 
war-worn  and  battered  veteran;  but  his  name  has  been 
rendered  illustrious  in  our  own  time  by  the  deeds  of  a 
younger  brother,  who  succeeded  to  his  territorial  title, 
which,  however,  was  shortly  after  merged  in  one  earned 
by  his  valor  on  the  ocean. 


JAN  1 6  1986 


:     .. 


BHHIB 

! 

I!!;:: 


